I Wish I Could Tell You

I wish I could tell you I was super excited about leaving home for three weeks and teaching twelve lessons on Christian Womanhood at Maranatha Bible School and that I didn't, sometimes after I was there, count down the days until I could go back home and fry eggs instead of my brain.

But that wouldn't be all the way true.

I wish I could tell you that I remembered to bring along my Warning: Slowest Eater at the Table sign for personal use in the dining area of the MBS gym.

But I didn't. 

I wish I could tell you that forgetting the sign didn't matter because I have made great strides (since I was a student in the same facility 40 years ago) in my ability to finish a meal at the same time as other normal human beings around me.

But I haven't. (Can't decide if it's due to savoring my food too much or talking too much – probably both)

I wish I could tell you I was model of righteousness at Maranatha; that I didn't go back to our apartment following the class wherein I had taught Stewardship of Time and promptly flop on the couch and start scrolling through my social media accounts when there were students' papers to grade, laundry items to fold, and the next days' lessons to prepare.

But I wouldn't be honest in saying so.

I wish I could tell you that I didn't worry a smidgen when Ken got pale-n-sweatin' sick the middle week we were out there; that I wasn't dealing with my own case of inner wobblies as I drove my husband to a walk-in clinic at noon one day and then again to an ER several hours later to get the severe pain in his side checked out; that I didn’t have to keep tamping down rising fear when he later developed a cough that sounded like it came from somewhere deep as his socks. 

But my journal entries from that time would tell quite a different story.

I wish I could tell you that the weekend we went to visit Ken’s sister Laurel and her family close to the one-year anniversary of Verlynn’s death, we brought our robust, cheery selves to their household instead of our sick and weary ones; that I didn’t question God’s ways again when interacting with a beautiful family bereft of husband, dad, and (first-time)grandpa; that my emotional strength caused blessing and comfort to ooze out my pores instead of having my longings drip out and puddle into a soggy mess in front of the Yoders as we circled up for a farewell prayer.

They could tell you otherwise.

I also wish I could tell you…

…how fun it was to return to Maranatha Bible School, to frequent the building in which I was a student for parts of seven consecutive winters so long ago, to walk the same tiled halls and enter the same rooms such as The Library and Rm. 103, to smell the same particular scent combination of laundry detergent and hairspray and snack boxes when approaching the dryers down by the girls’ dorm, to see the sign on the prayer room door and remember the awe-some feeling of meeting God while closeted there, to catch a glimpse of the Yearbook Staff corner and reminisce the moment when Ken came over there and asked me to go with him on a ten-minute walk along the lanes of little Lansing (don’t laugh, that was the extent of romantic beginnings we were allowed as MBS students back then)

…how interesting it was to make connections with the present-day students, to say to them, “I went to Bible School with both of your parents” or “Actually, we’re related to each other – your Grandpa Kauffman is my first cousin” or “Nine years ago when Ken and I were instructors here, your sister was a student in my class.”

…how beautiful it was to get to know my fourteen students – young women who listened carefully and respectfully in class, laughed at my jokes and cried with me when I told them about our tiny babies in heaven, turned in thoughtful homework assignments, entered wholeheartedly into group activities (my, were they ever good at volleyball!), served others willingly, interacted well with the staff children, and were profuse with their appreciation for my teaching.

…how enlightening it was to sit at my desk in the teachers’ room, listening to the male instructors’ conversations going on around me and hearing their robust discussions generated by chapel messages or questions from students in class, and how empowering it was to have these godly men invite my participation in the staff teamwork and sometimes ask for my input on a topic they were teaching.

…how exciting it was to watch God answer prayer during our time at MBS – for wisdom in class preparation, for relief from pain (thankfully, Ken’s bout was due to a muscular injury and not some gall bladder issue or another even scarier cause), for safety in travel and for event-free border crossings when both the principal and the assistant principal needed to return to their respective home communities for funerals within the same week.

…how healing it was to intermingle with Laurel & Co. in their home, to share meals and games and laughter together, to meet sweet baby Adalynn for the first time and to watch her mama’s family dote on her, to see the effect Laurel’s tonic had on Ken – both the home remedies and the in-depth conversation opportunities she offered her sibling.

…how enriching it was to spend three weeks of concentrated study in God’s Word, to learn more of His ways while fellowshipping among His people, to hunger more deeply for God and to find Him so satisfying. 

I wish I could tell you…

So I did. 

The current MBS students (eating popcorn after Sunday night singing in the halls)

The future MBS students?

Dining tables creatively arranged on Valentine's Day

Justin Martin leading the choir in daily chorus period

Hands-on activity (making a cake while blindfolded) during Team-Building Saturday

Sampling and judging the "blind-mixed" cakes

Indoor Blitz with oversized cards

My students had amazing childcare abilities

Studious, but also fun-loving

All the beautiful ladies posing after The Tea Party in the lounge

A special treat to be at MBS at the same time as our niece April

Dining with the Yoders

"Let's go!"

What a great-niece we have! 💗

Concentration efforts while "Uzzling"

Making music and memories

What's been happening in your life lately? Is there anything you wish you could tell me?😉 I'd love to hear it!