Faith....

On this Monday, I want to refer you to Susan Branch's blog which was posted on Sunday.  She has expressed the feelings of so many of us in such a beautiful way.

There is a book, "A Prayer for Children," written by Ina Hughs, which I have spent some time reading in recent days.  I would like to share a portion of this poem with you today.

 "We pray for children
         who give us sticky kisses,
         who hop rocks and chase butterflies,
         who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,
         who sneak Popsicles before supper,
         who erase holes in math workbooks,
         who can never find their shoes.

"And we pray for those
         who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
         who've never squeaked across the floor in new sneakers,
         who've never 'counted potatoes,'
         who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead,
         who never go to the circus,
         who live in an X-rated world.

"We pray for children
        who bring us fistfuls of dandelions and sing off-key,
        who have goldfish funerals, build card-table forts,
        who slurp their cereal on purpose,
        who get gum in their hair, put sugar in their milk,
        who spit toothpaste all over the sink,
        who hug us for no reason, who bless us each night."

There is more.  I think this is enough for now.  The rest may make it into a future post.   I don't know if the book is still in print, but it is definitely worth having on your bookshelf.  Ina Hughs is a columnist for our local newspaper.

After the past few days, here we are at a new week.  Hopefully this day gives you additional time to deal with recent happenings.  I continue to offer prayers for all those who have been affected by the tragedy in Connecticut this past Friday.

As for me on THIS day - it's "over the river, and through the wood," as the chorus heads across town to present our Christmas program for the third time!

Thank you for reading.  Your comments are appreciated.