We are officially on Christmas vacation - hooray! The last few weeks have been crazy, stressful, and overwhelming as we finished the semester, had final exams, completed report cards, and did all the preparations, set-up, events, and tear-down for our school's annual Christmas program.
Through all of that, I've been focusing on being thankful for little moments that touched my heart, rather than being overly stressed out about everything that was going on. It's some of these little moments that I would like to share today.
1. A few weeks ago, I took Gerrit outside and sat on one of the giant swings on the playground with him. Some kids were playing outside, and they came up to us and wanted to swing with us. We ended up with about five kids plus Gerrit and myself on one swing (like I said - it's a giant swing!), and I got them to start singing Christmas carols with me as we went back and forth. What started as a bit of silliness quickly turned into genuine praise as the kids took turns choosing what song we would sing next. I don't know if anyone else was outside to hear us...but those moments certainly lifted my spirit!
2. One of my students asked me to write a recommendation letter for him. He gave me enough time to write it, but it was in the midst of exam-grading and report-card-making, too. When I handed him the recommendation letter the following week, he thanked me once, but then came back at the end of the class period and said, "Mrs. Megan, I know that you have been really busy lately with lots of other things to do. I am really thankful that you were willing to take some of your time to write this letter for me." These words made my day.
3. A few nights ago, I was playing with Gerrit right before bedtime. It was one of those nights where he was tired, but still had lots of energy...which is a recipe for a giggle fit. All it took was for me to throw a ball at him, and he just lost it completely and couldn't stop laughing. So we played 'catch' (as much as an almost one year old can, at least), and giggled and laughed and had a good time.
4. I saw a few of my former students who graduated last year at the Christmas program this week. I am always so happy to catch up with them and see how they are doing. The ones I saw last night were eager to give me a hug and let me know how they were doing - both of them will be off to new adventures in the next few weeks and seemed to be seeking some advice and encouragement for their endeavors. I was blessed to be able to minister to these former students of mine, to give them the encouragement they wanted/needed, and to remind tell them that I will be praying for them. It is always my hope that the students who go through my classes will someday come to know Christ through the words I spoke and the actions I showed, and last night was a good reminder that He is still working in the lives of the students who are no longer my students.
In this season, I hope that you are also able to find joy in the little moments rather than becoming overly stressed out about all the things that you have to do. Merry five days until Christmas everyone!
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