By: Brenda Wilkerson
I GOT IT!!! I finally received my “bus babies’ class list”! Now, you and I both know we don’t experience traditional classroom learning on this moving yellow machine, but, oh, do we ever learn things during our daily adventures! Who is returning on my bus? Who isn’t? Has my route changed? How many upcoming 5th grade Bus Rangers do I need to train? Ackkkk, SO excited!
I have all those answers right here in front of me. So, I’m gonna pour me a tall cup of hot coffee with a splash of cream and a half tablespoon of raw sugar and get to work!
A captain cannot have a captain’s log without the log. Today, I prepare one of the most important treasures for the next unsure school year… my tiny bus journal companion to capture the countless daily adventures of this moving Yellow Classroom full of rambunctious children and walls of windows to literally watch the world go by. I am giddy and just as nervous as the kids right now. Lord, I come to You with open hands. This school year is Yours. I am just a vessel to be used by You to show all I come in contact with Your love, Your protection, Your provision. Let them all see You through me. I give You this new school year. Show me. Guide me. Shower me with Your wisdom, love, and patience so that I can pass it on.
To my brand spanking new kindergarten princess who crash-napped wearing a Wonder Woman shirt and a freshly colored crown that read I ROCKED the first day of Kindergarten, “Yes you did my ginger princess, you certainly did!”
To the Pre-K teacher who presented my teensiest rider with a concerned look and declared, “He’s only 3!” I will take special care of this baby!
To the teensy, bouncy white-headed 3-year-old who was looking for his car seat with buckles, welcome to your maiden voyage with no car seat! #bucklefreedom
To my maternal instincts that quickly arm-swept said teensy 3-year-old back into the seat behind me as he darted toward the door when he recognized his street before the bus stopped… I still got it! #ninjaquick
To my bus photographer Brother R, thank you for capturing the moments that I legally cannot while safely driving this bus.
To my Lord who lovingly gifted me with Your sweet peace in the back-to-school chaos, I am forever grateful for your many, many blessings.
I cannot possibly explain the sweet peace and pure joy of finding myself strategically placed in the middle of one of the very places God designed me to be while on this earth for the very short time I am here. I thank God for Mondays the very same I thank Him for Fridays. I get to truly drink in every second of my Sunday because I do not dread Monday – I actually look forward to 5:15 Monday morning. What if I told God, “No thanks,” because I hold a current Master’s in Elementary Education, and I deserve more than a bus driver salary? I obediently said “Yes” to His plan for me as it slowly unfolded piece by piece. I truly believe I already have an expiration date known before I was born. What freedom I experience when I do not live in fear of the unknown or that the world will end soon. Bring it on. I have a peace that passes all understanding. The Lord brought His ministry to me. Seventy little souls I get to pour into each day. Seventy families I get to minister to. Joy, pure joy is waiting when you humble yourself and say Yes to The Father, who always… always knows best for you!
I discovered my ministry in this moment, what’s yours?
Trust the Lord, He will take care of you!
~Brenda Wilkerson – The Captain
June 20, 2025
