A Few More Moments of Grace

It feels like the world as I knew it in the United States, especially, is coming to an end. There are so many emergencies right now... with the promise of more trouble: patriots from Iraq are detained; a white supremacist will now be allowed to assassinate people with impunity. And it's only just begun.

The only peace I can find is in Jesus. Oh, he is precious, and he does not lean left or right: he never changes. We cry out to you, God, let justice roll like mighty waters. 

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I have been asking God to show me the grace he's provided for the moment. Is it tangible, Lord? Can I feel it and see it, please? Because things look so hopeless.

Here are a few moments from last week that touched my heart:

1. Casablanca cold is different from Pennsylvanian cold. I prefer Casablanca cold, but hear me out. Though the weather bottoms out at 1*C, 34*F, the buildings aren't built to hold heat in. So it's hard to get warm when you do come inside. It's hard to explain how demoralizing that can become. There's no refuge. But we do get this spectacular rainbow over the ocean!

I'm wearing a knit cap beneath my hood, three or four layers on top, and two layers of slacks.
But look at the rainbow!

2. A new friend gave me a gift toward my upcoming vacation to France.

3. At the end of a seventh grade class on Friday, as the students prepared to leave, I thanked them for their attention, as I always do. Two of the girls came over to me and said sincerely, in practiced unison, "thank you for teaching us!" I regret not hugging them!

When All You Actually Want is a Cinnamon Roll

Today was one of those mornings when you're teaching seventh grade about imagery. You're introducing a bit of homework that isn't due for a few days and the thing you really have to do is a lot of end-of-semester grading. A lot. We're talking 80 essays due Sunday night, 46 more due Tuesday night, and a thousand little things you've put off grading until the end... and it's sneaking up on you, and you're pushing it away so you can teach class... but all you really want is a cinnamon roll with raisins. You know? What every teacher really needs is their* vice principal to show up with a cinnamon roll, and be like, "Here you go! Take a break, and I'll cover this class time. Enjoy that cinnamon roll, now!"

I mean, these cinnamon rolls. Everyone talks about them. It's inappropriate how often everyone talks about them. The problem has been that I'm teaching during the time when the cafeteria is selling them. Because of my split schedule, half middle, half high school, I teach through the break time when the rolls are for sale. In yesterday's meeting about a low-performing student, I even told this to the administration, because a whole day had gone by since I had complained about something.

You know that fantasy where someone comes into the room and trades you your class time for a cinnamon roll? That totally happened today. And it was both of my assistant principals who came into class, one to present the cinnamon roll, the other to whip everyone into shape after the oohing and ahhhing had subsided. I'm telling you, I left that room so fast, with my Kindle and my warm, sticky cinnamon roll.

Did I mention that my school is hiring?




*I'm using the form as a third person singular neuter on purpose, so would you cool it, already?