Love.

I’m thinking of things to do with my 11th and 12th graders for their marriage and family class. We're spending a good chunk of the beginning to help them understand themselves, each other, and how to have functional relationships in general. I was just looking through the EQ and Your Child book that Krista gave me before I came here, and I was going through the section about self-affirmation. In some activities they were supposed to write what they like about themselves, in others, other people affirm them. There was one where they each had a pretty piece of paper with a nice border and they would write their name in the middle. Then everyone in the family was supposed to pass the papers in one direction and write two things that they like about whoever’s paper they had. They would continue until they got their own paper back. And I was thinking about which activities could work and which wouldn’t and maybe I could combine activities, or maybe I should do something else before another one. And all of a sudden my eyes started to sting and I got that feeling like my heart was higher in my chest than normal. And I realized that I just want that for my students so badly. I want them to know just how wonderful they are. Even just a glimpse of God’s love for them could change their lives. No, they’re not perfect. I’m not perfect. But they are so precious to me. And their roots have been combined with their story and their personality and their choices, and… I don’t even know. I am very much in my heart right now. And I feel very thankful that God has given me this deep love for them because sometimes I forget that it’s there. But more importantly, I have a better understanding of His love and why He stays and why He forgives and why He disciplines and why He orchestrates. No two people are the same. Everyone is able to be known and studied and loved deeply.

(Irrelevant side note: I realized then when I speak about things I am passionate about I use less commas and more “ands.” Maybe I don’t want any intentional word to be lost in a list.)