Jesus Shall Carry Us

If you haven't yet, I invite you to peruse Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: The Joy of the Gospel. He writes in refreshingly plain language and it is quite profound. I chose a paragraph from it to be my daily message for this school year with its unforeseeable ups and downs. One line from it that sums it up well is "No single act of love for God will be lost, no generous effort is meaningless, no painful endurance is wasted" (paragraph #279).

This paragraph ended up being helpful right away. The school year came in like a lion as we were met with hurricane warnings. We were scared. The children were scared. We put on our brave faces for them. The hurricanes were headed directly toward the islands. Our families, friends, Community, and people we don't even know were praying for our safety. The storms downgraded, then one went below our island, while the other traveled above. The Big Island, however, wasn't so lucky. They were hit by Hurricane Iselle, and aid money has been sent their way to help pay for damages. We are so thankful for all the prayers because we believe that they helped to dissuade and downgrade the storms.

Around that time, I told my second and third graders the famous story of the Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson. In this poem, Stevenson writes about Jesus carrying us through difficult times. About a week later, I was struggling to get a jam out of my "jam-free guaranteed" stapler. I happen to have a very expressive face. One of my students came up to me and whispered, "Jesus is carrying you, Sister Monica!"

My students delight me so much! I love their curiosity and enthusiasm. We are studying Earth Science and it's been fun to watch them explore rocks and soil while soaking in new terms like "erosion." The much anticipated volcanic eruption will occur this week!

I don't know what the months ahead hold for us, but Jesus will carry us when we need it. :)