L-O-V

I was once warned as a teacher not to prejudge my students subconsciously by placing them into categories such as: trouble makers, over achievers, teacher’s pet, poor English students or go with the flow kids. When I subconsciously place them into different categories, I am limiting them and expecting them to act a certain way.

For example, I had a certain second grader who I labeled as a trouble maker because she gave me the nickname of “pig” and flipped me off a couple times. I prayer for this little girl every night and asked God to help me love her.

God helped me realize that I expected this student to be bad and she was simply meeting my expectations. “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT). So I changed my expectations and loved her.

Our relationship grew and she became one of my favorite students. I got a new nickname “Jomama” and sometimes I was called the Taiwanese word for Grandma. One day after I finished teaching her class, she took me by the hand and we to the school pond where she proceeded in English to point out turtles and fish, which she had just learned in class. She gave me hundreds of hugs and sometimes little gifts like stickers, cards or key chains. My favorite thing was that every time I left the classroom she would shout out “Joanna! Joanna! L. O. V.!” (I eventually got her to add an E at the end love). I had to learn the hard way not to judge my students by appearance, but to ask God to open my eyes to see what He sees and to help me love each one of my students the way He does.

~Joanna Glenn

Joanna has served with VOICE Missions in Taiwan for two years now. She is currently in America preparing to return to Taiwan this autumn to continue serving with VOICE Missions.