A t 2:45 every afternoon, you can find me on the floor in my classroom, conferencing with an eight year old trying
many times i ask them to jump into their story to describe what the main character sees, feels, smells, and hears, showing them along the way that by adding what the character senses they are building a bridge to their reader.
our senses are a way to mark occasions, celebrate seasons and make memories. just the sight of sushi reminds me of vacations, where the only thing on my mind is whether to read or take a nap. smelling a campfire in the distance makes me instantly laugh thinking of the stories told in the confidence that only a campfire can promise. blood curdling screams from an infant, instantly have me on my feet bouncing and rocking back an forth, and the smell of tacos bring back the nauseous feeling only a pregnant woman knows.
and the way that a sense can remind you of memories happy and sad, so too can a season.
and the Christmas season is no exception. for many it is a season of warmth, love, family and the celebration of the birth of our Saviour. for this party of four it too is all of those things, however, i have found myself in a slump this year.
in recent years, lets just say the last five, we have had a not so pleasant memory to mark each Christmas season, ranging from the stomach flu to our home being broken into. and this year i have found that instead of enjoying a season of relative peace thus far, i am bracing myself for the Christmas ball of bad luck to drop. and it hasn't. and instead of enjoying the refreshing calm of this season, i am missing it.
so on this twenty second day of december, i am brushing all past painful memories of this season off of my pessimistic self and preparing my heart for the birth of our King and the good memories to be made while surrounded by our family and friends. may you too be open to the many blessings this season brings.
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