Hello I'm Ka..... Miss Coolidge

School’s been out for over a month now and I’ve fallen into the routine of being Kaila– living according to my whims, spending time how I want to, going about my life thinking about what is best for me…and I must admit, occasionally spicing up my language with a cuss word or two (it’s a terrible habit).

This week is different.

This week I’m not Kaila, I’m Miss Coolidge and with that name tag comes high responsibility.

I’m no longer responsible only for myself, but the lives of three impressionable young minds. My words and actions are no longer my own. I now have three girls who look up to me and hang on my every word. No pressure, right?

As I sit here with a green tea in my hand, mentally preparing myself for the day ahead, I thank God for this opportunity. I have cheerfully stepped into the role of teacher, adviser, role-model and friend– eager to help my girls navigate the waters of an unfamiliar city and nation-wide FCCLA leadership conference.

With that has also come a healthy amount of uncertainty. We began the week unsure of what to expect. I knew that we would be in Downtown, Nashville with no vehicle. This meant a lot of exploring on foot and public transportation. I also knew there would be several events that wouldn’t end until after dark. This meant the girls would have their first experience of the city life after dark, which isn’t nearly as glamorous.

Despite these concerns, day after day, I have been constantly amazed at these girls’ curiosity for life, their confidence in me, love towards complete strangers and how they interpret the world around them. It has been truly awe inspiring. Through our encounters, more like (divine encounters) with strangers, I have been fortunate enough to see the raw beauty that lies within these young souls. I know without a doubt that God has had his hand in absolutely every aspect of this trip.

Divine Encounter #1

The Lady Just Wants to Dance

The day we arrived in Nashville, we decided to explore the city to find somewhere for dinner. As we walked down 5th Avenue soaking in the sights, sounds and smells (some good, some not-so-good), we decided on a restaurant called Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant. The sign posted outside advertised the live band playing that evening and down-home southern food. For us Texas girls, it was a no-brainer! We knew we made the right decision when we walked in and were told it would be an hour and a half to get a table. We were okay with that because it meant more exploring, plus we saw that another band was setting up to play in the courtyard across the street (win-win!).

We took our seat to watch the band play, right around the time we notice an older lady come up and sit at a table. She looked like she had seen some hard times. Her pixie cut hair was sticking out in all directions, she was missing the majority of her front teeth, and smelled of alcohol. Truthfully, we didn’t pay much attention to her at first. As the band began to play, the lady couldn’t contain herself. She got up from her table and began to sway and clap to the music– which soon turned into skipping and singing around the courtyard. The girls noticed, laughed, and admired her confidence.

End of story, right? Not quite.

We left, walked the block, took some videos and made our way back to the restaurant to see if our table was ready. It wasn’t, so we headed back to the courtyard to see the band. Cue the lady from earlier. She dances up to us, begins telling the girls how beautiful they are and how important it is to keep your “hater blockers” on (referring to her sunglasses). We laughed, one of the girls told her how much she admired the woman’s self confidence, exchanged pleasantries and then found a table to sit at.

From our seat we could over hear some older women talking about the lady we just met. They were devising a plan to get the woman kicked off the premises. All we could do is sit and watch as one woman proudly approaches a police officer and has the lady removed from the courtyard. We see across the way, the carefree lady crying because she was no longer allowed to enjoy the music. As the woman responsible for her tears comes back to the table, her friends clapped and cheered as if she had just saved the day.

This upset my girls. “That poor lady was just enjoying herself!” “What did she do wrong?” “Those women remind me of mean girls!” were just a few of the responses they gave. I realized that it was MY responsibility to teach them an important lesson. We had a discussion about how some people never grow out of their “mean girl” phase, and that all we can do is pray for them and make the decision to learn from how we feel in this moment and not repeat it in the future. I wanted them to understand that even though the woman we met has certainly seen better days, and may have had a tad too much alcohol, that she was a REAL person with REAL heartbeat and REAL feelings.

Who are we to judge the life she lives?

Why is it so wrong to dance without a care in the world?

This must have resonated with them because once our table was finally ready, they stopped by the lady from earlier and spoke encouraging words over her. They showed true kindness to our carefree friend, to which she responded with tears and “God bless you girls!”

This situation opened my eyes to the true nature of the girls accompanying me on this trip. My heart was full to see the kindness and compassion displayed towards someone who felt completely unwanted and sad. Their small words of encouragement totally made a difference in that lady’s day. They instilled hope in a person who had none.

That’s what life is about, right? Doing the small things that make the big differences. It’s clear to me that these girls have an understanding of life far beyond their years and I feel unbelievably lucky to have witnessed it firsthand.

Divine Encounter #2

The Angel Driving Lyft

The next day, the most important thing on our agenda was to find a Walmart. We couldn’t ship our display, and it would have been damaged if we checked it as luggage, so we elected to purchase a tri-fold and some supplies at Walmart in Tennessee. Of course since we were downtown, the nearest Walmart was about six miles away.

I called a Lyft to pick us up at the Music City Center. As the shiny, red impala pulled up to the front of the music center, my phone buzzed. Our driver wanted us to cross the street mid-way down the street and not at the cross walk.

Immediately the thought that went through my head was “WHAT?! No way!!” (If you know me, you know I absolutely despise jay walking). Needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled to be getting into the car with a stranger who wanted me to cross the street illegally with three preteens!

This all changed once we got into the car. The radio was playing praise and worship music, which was nice. Our driver, Tim, began the usual small talk.

Where are you from? Austin.

Why are you here? FCCLA National Leadership Conference.

What’s that? Family Career and Community Leaders of America.

Can you tell me more about your project? They explained Sole Hope, how they donated 120 pairs of shoes to children in Uganda and how they earned their way to Nashville by presenting their project to judges.

Our driver was inspired by the girls’ passion for their project and all the good that they did for the children in Uganda. He then began to share about his many years as a missionary and about the mission work his son now does in Afghanistan. They were interesting stories and the girls seemed to really enjoy hearing about them (luckily all three girls are Christians and don’t feel uncomfortable in conversations like this in the least).

We got to Walmart, and the man told us he would wait for us, which is not typical of ride faring drivers. He told us that although the Walmart wasn’t in the worst part of town, he would feel better if he knew that we were safe and that he would love to take us back to our hotel. WOW. So we went into Walmart, rushed around to find the supplies we needed, and headed back outside. We immediately found the shiny, red Impala, just like he said we would.

On the way back to the hotel we continued swapping stories. He shared with us that his niece chose a “different path” for her life and that she ran with some rough people. So much so that the entire family had disowned her and condemned her. He explained that even though he was a Christian and did not agree with the lifestyle she chose or the people she surrounded herself with, he chose to love her, stick by her and be there for her. He exemplified exactly what it’s like to be a Christian, and that light shined beyond his niece to the exact people “good Christians” shouldn’t associate with.

This story brought a whole new perspective to the conversation we had the day before about our dancing lady in the courtyard. The girls shared that story with Tim and were able to build on the understanding that the fundamental purpose of life is to LOVE.

Love people when they treat you well.

Love people when they don’t.

Love people when they stumble and fall.

Love the outcasts.

Love the ones who need it the most.

Getting out of the car that day, we all agreed that the ride with Tim was no accident. God brought these two strangers into our lives for a purpose.

The next few days brought similar situations.

The torrential downpour mid-day on Monday had us running for shelter in a parking garage which led to us meeting a couple from Switzerland who spoke broken English. They were so impressed with the service the girls did for the children in Uganda, they engaged in a 30 minute conversation about what Sole Hope was and how they too could get involved.

Later that day, I was able to see one of my girls go completely out of her way to make sure she could give her change from lunch to a woman standing on a street collecting money for battered women.

Over the course of 3 days we learned from strangers that first impressions aren’t always absolute truths and that people will surprise you. It was almost unbelievable how these experiences sparked a dialogue between my students and in turn showed me a side of them that a public school teacher rarely gets to see. I was able to see them interact, share their faith, and perform small acts of kindness for complete strangers. This week has been LIFE GIVING thus far, and we are merely halfway through. I couldn’t let another day go by without sharing the amazing experiences and divine encounters we have had since our arrival to Nashville.

If you stuck it out to the end, THANK YOU for taking the time to read this blog post. I hope it leaves you feeling encouraged knowing that God can make moves in the most unexpected places.