February 14

Feb. 16, 2014

This week we had our annual staff retreat – the topics were the Gifts of the Spirit and Love Languages.

This was delightful because the entire staff was present for the meetings, not just the teachers, with whom we spend most of our time. After we took our Gifts Surveys, we shared by groups, describing the gift and giving some examples of how we’ve seen God use our gifts. Mine is mercy and R’s is administration. He’s a natural organizer, and I have a tender heart. The whole gamut of gifts was represented, and it seems to me that we are using our gifts for the Body here at SVIS – not just with the children, but also with the other staff members.

The second day we concentrated on the Five Love Languages as explained by Dr. Gary Chapman. Of course, we were familiar with this: touch, words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, and acts of service. We know what our Love Language is, and true to stereotype, ours are opposites, and we’ve been aware of that in our marriage and have tried to love each other in such a way that each perceives the love. We were familiar with that idea with our own children also. But it is a challenge to think of it in terms of our students.

Our students come to us with their love tanks virtually empty. In other Christian Schools where we have worked, this wasn’t necessarily so – as most of the students came from loving homes. We have the challenge of identifying our children’s Love Languages and then ministering to them in a way that is believable and not rejected.

In thinking through my class list, some of them are easy to figure out – M who asks daily how her grades are (and they are very good), needs words of affirmation. L, who wants to link arms as we walk, needs physical touch. In fact, the other day when I called her “Sweetie,” she exploded at me. A often shows others that she cares about them by serving them, so I suspect that this is the language she understands. I still have to think about the others.

R knows he has two who need physical touch desperately. They are all over him, touching him when they come to class. Another boy, who is always in trouble for messing with other children, probably is showing that he needs positive touch also. You can understand how some of this gets “tricky.”

We are concerned about others who are not in our classes also –there have been incidents of gang involvement and bullying. The administration and teachers desperately want to discern their Love Language too, so we can fill their tanks with our love, and through that, they will receive Jesus’ love. They are living hopeless lives without Jesus.

We hope your days are filled with love,

Happy Valentine’s Day.