“Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:9-10

The last day of school before break, I was having a mentor meeting with one of my teachers. By five o’clock, she and I were both ready to close the door on the school term. As I was leaving, I noticed a K-W-L chart on Christmas. Her local first grade students had posted what they Know, Want to know, and Learned about a study on Christmas.

“How did it go?” I inquired of the unusual occurrence in our closed context.

Her weary face lit-up with joy. “Look at their questions! ‘Why is Jesus important?’ ‘Is Jesus God’s son?’ ‘Why did God send Jesus?’ ‘Why are gifts given on Christmas?’ Can you believe this?”

I marveled at the sharing opportunity. “How did you respond?”

“I couldn’t believe, after being sick all week and not wanting to be here, I was given this opening. I thought for a few moments and decided to tell the Good News story. For the first time in the whole year, my 22 first graders were mesmerized and I was uninterrupted for twenty-five minutes. Their faces were glued to mine the WHOLE time!”

She pointed to notes that were on the Learned section of the chart. “God loves me.” And, “God gave a Gift.”

We both wiped our eyes and the fatigue of months of work proved itself in ways we hadn’t imagined.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” Isaiah 40:28