Day 8: Christmas Connections

 

Day 8 Christmas Connections

There is no longer Jew or Greek,

there is no longer slave or free,

there is no longer male and female;

for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28

Carol’s list of books for Story Hour was coming together. The kids loved Milo Imagines the World.* How hard it was to pick just seven books! Carol’s list of choices grew longer every day as she remembered this sweet story or that wonderful character. She wanted to include some holiday books and a few for Alma to read in Spanish. So many books and so little time!

Gina’s list for the display included stories of connecting (The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes by Ruth Hogan; The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Cassandra Petter; How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior; A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman and The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune); some non-fiction “How-To” books on making friends; two Jason Reynolds classics (The Boy in the Black Suit and Ghost) for the YA crowd; The Loser’s Club by Andrew Clements for the middle grades and his Big Al for the younger kids, along with Each Kindness* and The Day You Begin* by Jacqueline Woodson, and Another Pond* by Bao Phi. So many books that Carol loved or longed to read came in multiple languages. 

Sighing loudly and standing to stretch, Carol noticed several tutors and students working quietly at tables. Should she interrupt to make a few connections? She was sure that the tutors had their own lament, So much to teach, so little time, matched by the learners’ So little time to learn so much! 

She wouldn’t interrupt. The pleasant buzz of learning from the tutoring group tickled Carol’s ears. The library was used by so many different groups. Differences divided the groups — young and old, teachers and learners, local folks and new arrivals, and first and second language speakers. 

Such diverse groups shared the library. How could we focus on what we share? How could she get all of the library groups together? 

That’s it! A title for their December theme popped into her head. She couldn’t wait to share it with her happy helpers.

Advent Challenge: When you look at a group of people, do you look for differences or similarities? Today, when you see or interact with others, focus on what you have in common. 

Prayer: Dear Jesus, you call us to be together. Why do we focus on our differences instead of what we share? Yet we share so much with you. Remind us daily that your love and peace are meant to be shared. For we are all one in you. Amen

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.       John 17:20-23

*Available on YouTube