God has a Clipboard, Probably

My particular ministry focus is not always the most popular.

I talk about laws, rules, regulations, and other fun stuff.

That’s what my ministry is built on: love and law.

We Americans are a people in love with love. Claiming love is the most important thing, above all else, is usually more well-received than God is a lover of law.

In a previous blog, I wrote about the school kids’ resistance to rules. Any rules.

I wasn’t there to lay down the law, so to speak, but some rules were essential to create the order I needed to keep them safe. Which is, by all means, love.

The first order of business was to know exactly who was under my care.

I typed up Aftercare Rosters and placed them on my clipboard everyday, religiously. The clipboard was my symbol of love, care, and concern. Even if I wasn’t feeling well, (which was often) I clung to the clipboard. My Aftercare Bible.

The clipboard kept track of the precious little souls–who was there, who left, and who picked them up. I also marked what time they exited the building. I made notes of any unusual problems or situations that came up.

Often, I could walk into a bit of chaos in the afternoon. It was, after all, the end of the school day. Sometimes a party or school function overlapped with Aftercare, and kids and parents and teachers scurried around, in and out all the doors.

The clipboard was my anchor.

No matter what was happening, I stuck to the routine. The ritual I’d created that I never gave up. I stood and waited for the kids to sit at a table. I told them nothing was gonna happen until everyone was accounted for; no snacks, no playground, nothing.

Only when I consistently practiced that ritual did it finally work.

I’m all about positive reinforcement and compassion.

But if I didn’t even know at the beginning whom I was responsible for, the afternoon would quickly unravel into confusion. And, ultimately, it was my care and concern for them that led me to clutch the clipboard day after day.

Good rituals/rules are not the enemy.

Good rituals/rules say I care enough to help you through another day.

And my clipboard said you were here; and I knew you by name.