Affirmation

Teacher - Student, be the bond ever sacred, never broken.

Lord, please help me carry Your message, use me as your carrier.

Responsibility, respect are the watchwords of the day.

We work, sometimes together, sometimes in near disarray

as we struggle to make sense of the message today.

Honoured I feel, to be given this charge.

For young minds are moldable if not yet quite large.

Please lead me in the direction You wish, my shepherd.

I open my heart, mind mind unto You as You plant the seeds

of wisdom, that one day they might grow and flourish into new

teachers and gift-givers. Thus Your message propagates and thrives

through a new cycle of giving and receipt through living.

Last evening during my high school CCD (Catholic religious Ed.) class, we did an interesting craft sort of project. The kids were asked to create their image of God, using various art supplies we hand made available to them. Of course, being sophomores in high school, some of the boys had difficulty taking it seriously, and many of the girls were a bit shy at first. But, one girl blew me away. She's a smart young gal, a popular athlete and an excellent artist. She drew two hands clasped together in prayer and as a back drop, they were in front of a setting sun/horizon, almost abstract really, tough to describe here. She shared her creation with the group, and went back to working on it as we moved into the next part of class.

I walked over and she had written the serenity prayer across the artwork, as if it were floating there and she read it to me, trying to get the verse correct. She told me that this was her favorite image of God, her favorite prayer because it gave her so much peace, joy and relief. I was choked up, and felt a warm rush of emotion as she related this to me, right there in front of other girls, other athletes. While this would no doubt be a magical moment for any teacher, it was no doubt an amazing spiritual experience for me because I know this girl, I know more about her than she knows. I watched her father come through the doors of my home group in AA a few years ago. I've coached her little bro in baseball for three years and have had him in Cub Scouts for three years. I have been witness to the miracle of recovery in the lives of this friend's kids. Her heart-felt recitation and explanation of the Serenity Prayer went to my heart and it's a moment I shall never forget. After class I explained that there are a few more verses to the prayer and that I would write them down for her and she smiled, said thanks and dashed off, a happy kid.

God works in AA, I have no doubts.