Today I give thanks that I have God in my life, for His wonderful love and that He is with me always. I also give thanks that we can celebrate the birth of Jesus as a community and as a family with traditions that bring us together and link us to past generations.
The storm roared through the night and had calmed down by the morning. My early start saw me driving up the hill in the dark, admiring the dawn breaking over the Exmoor hills. Even the pattering rain simply made my warm car feel even cosier. Next I saw that the rain was splatting on the windscreen as it turned to sleet. Then came a tapping and a drumming on the roof of the car as hailstones filled the sky. I pulled over to take a photo, the car was rocking in the gusts of wind and lightening flashed across the sky. The weather continued stormy for most of the day with a few dry and even sunny spells between storms.
This morning in school the children had their Christingle/ Nativity play. The youngest children were sweet as usual as they walked through the hall to form a Nativity tableau. The older children narrated the text and all the children sang carols. I managed to play the piano without any hitches and then it was time to light the Christingles being held by the Year 2 children sitting around the edge of the hall. This was nerve wracking to say the least especially as this year there were the parents of 60 rather than 30 children in the hall and the place was very crowded.
These 3 were on the other side of my piano and should not have been holding the Christingles up in the air. I feared for the lady standing in front of them as their lit candles swayed back and forth. Not to mention one lad who was seeing how much wax he could drip off his candle. However it did look very sweet especially as the children were singing Silent Night at the same time. After it was over I helped with serving tea, coffee or mulled cider to the parents.
During the afternoon the choir went to sing carols at an old peoples' sheltered housing complex and I had the rest of Year 2 (35 children). We did some drawing & describing activities and then I let them have some Golden Time. I left school quite promptly in case the weather deteriorated. Once I got up in the hills I could see a lot of hail along the road side but it wasn't cold enough for ice. I'm not going out until lunchtime tomorrow so I don't need to worry about the state of the road first thing. 
2 comments:
It is such a comfort knowing God is always with us. : )
Having an overdue 'catch up' read and this post is so beautiful. I love the traditional services, which formed such a strong part of my childhood Christmases and education.
It's sad that mostly private schools only in NZ follow religious traditions. Thankfully Charlotte and Sophie have enjoyed traditional carols and traditions this year. And at home we've been singing lots of carols and making our own little nativity scenes.
I love the photographs of the service and well done playing the piano without any hitches to such a big audience! I'm impressed!
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