MY CHRISTMAS PRAYER

I pray for peace

Blessings and honor

Heaven right earth's despair

This is my Christmas prayer

If you are like me, you probably hope to slow down around Christmas, to not permit the turbulent activities of this time of year to transform into a cacophony of meaningless noise, a disharmony of messages which overwhelms a perfect time for reflection. If you are truly like me, you may have lost any hope of this happening weeks ago. Still, it is never too late; hope springs eternal.

This fall and early winter have left me desperate for a time of peacefulness. It is difficult for me to unroll a list of "things for which I am grateful" when I know there have been so many parts of life which cause great sadness for me. I have felt the brunt of an acrimonious election season, I have seen pictures and video of the tragedy in Syria, I have experienced the absence of loved ones, either through death or simply their day to day presence in your life. The chaos of the holiday season, while meant to generate hope and anticipation, ratchets up my own anxiety over aspects of life which are challenging to overcome. 

You likely have a set of Christmas songs which you unearth in order to make life right this time of the year, as right as it can possibly be. Yes, I always have the "standards" on hand, but there are some songs that speak to me differently than others.

One of the songs on my "Christmas Favorites" playlist on my computer and iPod always puts me in the best mood because it encourages hope, regardless of the darkness which may surround us. 

Bebe Winans' "My Christmas Prayer" is a duet between Bebe and Rob Thomas (90's people know who this is). At the center of the song is a beautiful bridge in which we are asked to fill our hearts with "hope" in order to be "the light in the dark" for those around us. The chorus speaks to the importance of "love" in this world and how we can all "pray" that it "rule and reign."

Listening to this song triggers all of the memories of love I have and how powerful it has been in my life. I hope that you can take a quiet moment to stop and listen to the song. I share it with love in the hope that you can be a light in the world, shining your "light through the dark."

Merry Christmas to all and thank you for taking the time to read my blog over the past year!

My Christmas Prayer

Bebe Winans (featuring Rob Thomas)

I pray for peace

Blessings and honor

Heaven right earth's despair

This is my Christmas prayer

For those that grieve

God will bring comfort

Laughter will rapture there

This is my Christmas prayer

See I pray that love will rule and reign

And I pray that time will rid the pain of this world

As we learn to trust and care

This is my Christmas prayer

I pray for you (Yes I know you do)

That your triumph and conquer

Poses the strength you need to bare

This is my Christmas prayer

For those in need

There would be plenty

And each other's burdens share

Oh, this is my Christmas prayer

See I pray that love will rule and reign

And I pray that time will rid the pain of this world

As we learn to trust and care

This is my Christmas prayer, Oh

So let hope fill our hearts (Let's let hope fill our hearts)

Shine the light through the dark

All around the world

And everywhere

I will pray

This Christmas prayer

See I pray that love will rule and reign

And I pray that time will rid the pain of this world

As we learn to trust and care

This is my Christmas

This is my Christmas prayer

See I pray that love will rule and reign

And I pray that time will rid the pain of this world

As we learn to trust and care

This is my Christmas prayer

This is my Christmas prayer

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Video: YouTube

IN OUR HANDS

"Bucon, these look like turkeys we did in kindergarten! What are we doing?"

"Oh, my gosh! It is only a turkey if you want it to be. Just give me five minutes to explain what we are doing, OK?"

"Oh! No! Are we seriously painting today? I hate these handcrafted projects. I am not creative!"

"Stop. You are creative. You will be creative. Now smile."

"Yes! No writing today. Right?"

"Bahahahaha!"

"YES! I love this doing this stuff!"

"I love you, too."

I am eternally grateful for my students, even though some may exhaust me, some may frustrate me, and some may paint my head with remnants of their own hand prints. Students riddle my life as a teacher with a constant barrage of unbridled enthusiasm, cynical skepticism, and understandable anxiety.

The gratitude page is a staple of our senior scrapfolios. We create them the last three days before Thanksgiving, spending the time painting the palms of our hands to create a hand print of who we are physically at this time in our lives then reflecting upon aspects of our lives for which we are grateful. We take those reflections of gratitude and encircle our hands, an abstract act of expressing gratitude. It is a good time for all of us. Well, it can be exasperating for me as I need to step back and let my seniors be kids for a few days. I always want these activities to be "perfect," but there is no perfection in the process. There is only joy in the finished products.

This is my gratitude page from 2012. My students put their own creative spin on this.

It is Thanksgiving so I am going to move quickly to my point.

My students took time this week to examine their hands. The moment was more than simply the colorful physical manifestation of their handprints on paper. They peered into the open hands of what they have freely received in their lives: the everlasting friendships, the teachers and coaches who have nurtured them, the pets who have remained loyally by their sides, the warmth of good homes and shelters from cold, the good health to participate in all of the activities they enjoy, those who have come and gone before them, the gift of life from God, the unconditional love of family. 

We can all look into our own hands today to count the blessings which we have freely received in our lives. We can all take a moment to be grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!