Spider-Man and Pine Cones: The Joy of Lists

“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.”   K.Barth

I’ve commented many times in my years at LCES that having an office across the hallway from the JK and SK classrooms is often a helpful experience for me. I remain convinced that while our youngest students have much to learn, they also have much to teach us about how to respond to God’s world. Their joyful response to a world of discovery can cause us to stop and take stock of what actually lives around us and what is important.

Last week the JK class spent some time working on expressing what they are thankful for. Here is a combination of a number of their sentences:

I’m thankful for all of the kids in my class at school today.

I’m thankful for a drink.

I’m thankful for Spider-Man.

I’m thankful for going outside and play.

I’m thankful for laughing.

I’m really thankful for mom and dad.

I’m really thankful for school.

I’m thankful for pinecones.

I’m really thankful for that it could be winter.

I’m really thankful for my mom.

But most of all I’m thankful for God.

Indeed, we have so very much to be thankful for. I’ll take my cue from our students and create my own list of things I am thankful for:

I’m thankful for committed, industrious, and innovative staffs who work at LCES.

I’m thankful for the Psalms we read every Monday morning before the students enter.

I’m thankful for the freedom and opportunity of Christian Education in Ontario, and for the exciting larger picture of organizations like ours across Canada and the world.

I’m thankful for missing-tooth smiles and birthday treats students share with me.

I’m thankful for the symphony of colour I see this morning outside my office window.

I’m thankful for the abundant blessings received through the Bright Futures Campaign.

But most of all, I’m thankful for continual reminders that God is at work in our school.

May our thankfulness turn to joy every day. God is very good to us.

SJ