Grace Received in Large Measure

We always talk about the grace we receive from God, and it is a wonderful concept, but sometimes I have felt it is a little abstract for my comprehension. Not after today, because I received it in human form when I should have been bludgeoned, scorned, yelled at... you get the idea. I will try to make it a short version.

We are doing these tests called Benchmarks, where I take my students in a small group to another room and read the questions and answer choices to them. Today was Math, and we were testing along, when one of my students said he needed a Hundred's chart. None to be found, I told him just to try another method to solve the problem. He asked me to write the chart on the board, so I did; but only to 50 as that was all he needed. Fine; he solves his problem, we continue, and they finished the test.
About an hour after my writing the numbers, the librarian comes in to get a teacher a laptop. I tell her that something is wrong, that the board would not erase. Now, this is a white board on rollers, and I was SURE I had used a dry-erase marker to write with. She turned and looked at the board, and her face went as white as the board itself. Her eyes bugged, and watered up, and she mumbled out, "That is not a dry-erase board. It is a, and called the name, which I have already forgotten, but it starts with a P." I could tell I really had messed up. I told her I would pay to clean it, or replace it or whatever, that it was truly and accident. That is when she told me that it costs $4,000 and has never been used. It works with a computer and uses a specific pen to write with. Then, she left the room. I felt like throwing up, and my little boys were suddenly very quiet.
"Miss, we will bring money to help you."
"We will help you pay for it."
"Are you going to have money left for food?"

Next, the door opened, and the principal walked in. She stopped beside me and just looked at the board. Then, she patted my shoulder, and smiled. "Don't worry, Amy. It is a thing, and things can be replaced. We will call the company and see what they say to clean it. Don't feel bad." DON'T FEEL BAD??? My stomach by now is way up in my throat, and I'm wondering how Andy is going to take this news. She leaves the room, and I want to vomit, but I've got to sit with the little boys and try to control them when all I want to do is cry big, wet, loud tears. $4000. (One boy asked me if I made that much in a year....)

Eventually, a couple of ladies came in. They had talked to the company who told them to get it off AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I did not volunteer that it had, by now, been about 2 hours. She had baby wipes and cleaner for dry-erase boards. Very timidly, with all our eyes focused on her arm and the boys crossing every body part they could, she sprayed on the first number and wiped.

It worked. Praise God. It worked. She had to wipe and wipe, and the principal came in to see, and the boys were sent back to their rooms. I sat there a bit, knowing that today, I am the talk of the campus.

The principal is going to post a sign on the corner of the board now, explaining that it is not to be written on, just in case.

Grace. So appreciated this day.