| I'm Still Learning |
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For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. It doesn't seem to matter how old I get (let's not even go there!), I find that I'm still learning. It's not the normal type education that comes by way of books or lectures in a college class. This one came from a very sweet little 2nd grade boy with ears too large and a lisp way too cute.
It's nearing Christmas in the piano teaching realm. If I wait too late in the year then the kids won't have time to enjoy their Christmas music books. We who teach for the love of music make certain that our students have Christmas music that they are simply ready to enjoy. There's no need to force a child to struggle through Joy to the World or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I think any teacher that gives a kid challenging Christmas music might have a bit of Grinch in her/his soul. Christmas is about the joy and music for this should follow suite.
This sweet boy was excited about his very colorful new Christmas book. I promised him that we'd take a few moments to look through it before his lesson was over. He learned to play Up on the Roof Top and sang along with the words. The boy loves to sing and I find a lot of pleasure in that. Not many boys do, you know. We turned the page to O Come All Ye Faithful and he saw Adeste Fideles written beneath the title. I told him that it was in a different language - Latin. He told me excitedly he knew two words in a different language. I'd love to write what the words were, but my memory fails me here. I do however, remember their meanings. He giggled as he told me one word meant "booger" and the other meant "poop." Ah! The life of an average little boy is filled with wonder!
When we came to a song that had the word "manger" in it, he struggled a bit and the word became "man-gur" instead. When I corrected him he asked what it was. It was then that I wondered if this child had heard the Christmas story. Surely, there isn't a child around in America who hasn't been exposed to it in one manner or another. After all, he could sing along with Silent Night and Joy To The World. But, as we flipped through the music book it hit him that many of the songs weren't about Santa and gifts, but about Jesus. He said, "Mrs. Bunny, this looks like a God book!" I asked him if he'd ever heard the story about how Jesus was born. He said, "no." It was one of the saddest moments I can remember. The sweetest moment was to come, as I told him all about angels and shepherds, Mary and Joseph, a manger and sheep, and the birth of God's Son. He is in second grade and had never heard the story of the Savior's birth...
I learned a couple of things yesterday. One was how to say boogers & poop in a different language (okay - I'm already erasing it from my memory!!). The other was that I should never - ever - take for granted that people know about Jesus. |
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