So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” Genesis 16:13, ESV
She walked into my classroom and hid inside herself. She was one of those “gap kids”—the ones who slip through the cracks while we scramble to meet the needs of so many others. She was quiet, absent too often, and when she was there, she slept through class. Her grades didn’t matter to her, because why should they? When no one notices, when home is heavy, when survival is the priority—what does school even mean? She was the epitome of the phrase “You need to Maslow before students can Bloom.”
But God saw her. And my heart went out to her.
However, on one particular day in November, a miracle happened. A First Priority meeting changed lives on that day, and hers was one of them.
After school, she came up to me, her face alight with something I had never seen on her before—joy. Real, deep joy.
“Mrs. P, what do I do now that I’ve accepted Christ? There has to be something next.”
I told her to start sharing the Gospel, find a church, and take the next step in baptism. Without hesitation, she asked if she could come to church with me that night.
Of course, I said yes.
That very afternoon, before I even picked her up for church, she was already living out her new faith. On the school bus home, she shared the Gospel with another girl—and right there, that girl accepted Christ too. One day in the faith, and she was already leading others to Jesus. Wow!
That night at church changed everything for our small youth group. The next week, she told me, grinning, “Mrs. P, I invited a few friends!”
A few was an understatement. My minivan would be packed. I called our youth pastor, “Luke, we have a problem—a good one, but still. Can we resurrect that bus ministry? I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”
We ran our first bus route that night, picking up around ten students.
The next week she said again, “Mrs. P, I invited a few more, and the ones from last week did too!”
We needed another bus.
Weeks passed. More students came. More buses were needed. Three years later—after more than 70 baptisms—our church now runs four buses, sometimes doing double routes to bring everyone in.
All because of one girl. One girl who could have so easily slipped through the cracks, but instead, God used her to bring other “gap kids” to the One who never loses sight of them. She didn’t just resurrect a youth group—she led a revival. We call her our little evangelist because she has shared the Gospel with so many others, never afraid to bring the lost to the God who sees them.
The ones who felt unseen now know they are fully known and deeply loved by a God who never looks away.
And me? She saved me, too.
When I was struggling, when I felt like I had nothing left to give, God sent her into my life. Her faith, fire, and relentless belief that there has to be something next reminded me of why I do this. She reminded me that God sees me, too.
Heavenly Father, thank You for my girl. Thank You for seeing her, using her, and working through her in ways I never could have imagined. Thank You for letting her be part of my story—for using her to point me back to You when I needed it most. Help me to always see my students the way You do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Copyright Morgan Preston.
Morgan is a Christian Educators member, a middle school social studies teacher, and a First Priority leader in Kentucky.
