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Cue the orchestra: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

Really!!!

We feel your pain as you attempt to continue to teach, reach benchmarks, give quizzes; maybe even a final test during this festive time of year. Your students’ attention is probably elsewhere (they are sometimes literally “off the chain!”), and you are feeling the frustration of moving forward in this type of situation. In the midst of all the teacher expectations, we know you are planning holiday gatherings, shopping, buying and wrapping gifts, baking, and maybe – just for fun – picking up antibiotics for the third time because somebody else in the family is down with another illness. Too many things to do and not enough time to get them all done. How do we choose which of them gets our time and attention?

During our years in the classroom, we tried to make time to reflect on the important elements of this season. Daily devotions, meaningful music, an advent candle, and family time seemed to settle the hectic pace and give us the stability we needed. This holiday – Christmas – was the moment in history that brought our Savior to the earth. God as a baby; an incredible thought! He deserved each of our prayers, thanks, and time. When we managed to fit Him into our day, everyone benefited. Love absorbed into our hearts was able to overflow to colleagues, students, their families, and our loved ones.

So our message to you in this blog post is just this: make sure you give yourself time to reflect on the meaning of this season and soak up the blessings. Emmanuel – God with us – is about to be born in a stable!

God bless,

Deidre and Sue