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^He LOVES books^
^Thanksgiving... I made this dinner all by myself
^Check out that hair!
^Me... w/out makeup scary... lol
Cna yuo raed tihs? i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs rpsoet it.
Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful
experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations...extensive card
writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending.
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Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious
family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas. My son,
Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for
a six year old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's
"Winter Pageant." I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the
night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke
with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the
morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that
evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas
seemed happy with the compromise.
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So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early,
found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room,
I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats.
As I waited, the students were led into the room.
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Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor.
Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.
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Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the
holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun,
commercial entertainment...songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes
and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love,"
I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.
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Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy
mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those
in the front row - center stage - held up large letters, one by one,
to spell out the title of the song.
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As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the
letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding
up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."
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The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her;
a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down -
totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W". The audience of 1st
through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had
no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her
"W".
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Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter
continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together.
A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant,
we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday
in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our
festivities.
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For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:
"CHRISTWAS LOVE" And, I believe, He still is!!
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God certainly does work in mysterious ways!!
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