Day 15 Christmas Connections
Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
Luke 12:27
When the children arrived for Story Hour, they found two rows of chairs set up facing one another with a red carpet running between them. Gina handed each a paper ticket. Carol punched their tickets and each took a seat. Parents sat at tables watching.
“Welcome to our city bus,” Carol announced. “Today, we will be taking a trip with some friends in our book, Last Stop on Market Street* written by Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson. CJ and Nana take the bus to a favorite place. Have any of you ridden on a bus?”
Hands shot into the air.
“Mamá and I went to the train station. We took a train too!” called Joceyln
“Abuela came to our house on a bus. She brought us all presents.” offered Mario
“I like to sit in the back. Next year, I’ll take a bus to school,” said Parker
Carol read: CJ and Nana ride the bus every Sunday after church.
On a rainy day, CJ and his grandmother board the city bus where they encounter a man tuning a guitar, an old woman wearing curlers carrying a jar full of butterflies, and a man covered in tattoos. A blind man boards with his helper dog. CJ asks Nana why he can’t see. Nana tells him that some people see with their ears. “‘And noses,’” the man adds. Soon, the man with the guitar begins to sing. Everyone on the bus enjoys his music. Closing his eyes, CJ imagines a beautiful world. They arrive at the last stop where CJ and Nana step off into a rundown neighborhood. CJ asks Nana why the city is so dirty. Nana encourages him to look for beauty no matter where he is.
As Carol read, the children pointed out details in the colorful illustrations. When she closed the book, Carol asked, “Did you find any beautiful things in the pictures?”
The orange umbrella! The butterflies! The man’s dog! The rainbow!
“Last stop!” Carol called as she ushered the children out of the bus and over to the tables where their parents waited with watercolors and paintbrushes.
Gina passed around some cut-outs of buses, rainbows, butterflies, guitars, dogs, and more. When the hour ended, Gina had decorations for the tree, and the children, a bit more colorful with painted fingers, waved goodbye.
Advent Challenge: God gave us a beautiful world. Find beauty everywhere today. Share what you find with a friend.
Prayer: For the beauty of the earth, for the glories of the sky, for the love which from our birth, over and around us lies. Lord of all, to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise. Amen
*
*Available on YouTube
No comments:
Post a Comment