When I was doing my field studies for teaching life became very mundane. I showed up and  sat in the back of the class while I watched the main teacher teach.  At least that is what I thought for  awhile. I talked to the kids sometimes but not as often as I would of liked.

One day when a student was finished with his work I went and sat next to him. This teen was normally very quiet . He  wasn’t shy. He has just been through so much. He looked at me and told me every bad thing he done in is past.  He told me how he has started going to church everyday Sunday ( this was a public school so he knew nothing about my faith.) I went up to the main teacher and asked him why the student poured out his life story to me.

The teacher told me sometimes he needed it.

After that day I went and sat near different students and they all told me their stories. Some had done drugs. Some had just gotten out of the foster system at seventeen. Some parents have passed. Some students have been in jail. But what mattered to them is that I cared, listened, and showed up. I encouraged them each time when they slipped up. I would encourage them by telling them each day was a new start.  And when they made good choices I would be by them cheering them on. Most days felt mundane.

But sometimes I think Christ works in the small moments. He works in times when it feels like a routine.

So if you think you aren’t doing anything useful I encourage you to think again. The Kingdom of God is there, in the listening, in the showing up.

Megan Hall has lived in Florida for her entire life and has learned to appreciate so many things about where she lives. She is a recent college graduate who studied to be a teacher for those with special needs. She hopes to be a missionary one day. You most likely can find her serving at an orphanage or spending time in nature. She blogs at Child of the Risen King and tweets right here.