Love in a Box
Oh, you can't put Jesus' love in a box, love in a box, love in a box,
Oh, you can't put Jesus' love in a box,
'Cause his love will come a-bubbling through.
When I taught in Christian schools, this was a song we sang around Valentine's Day. The kids understood--it's just silly to think that we can put love in a box. And Jesus' love certainly doesn't fit into any container, no matter how big. His love has no limits; it is intangible, untouchable, and essential.
In public school, Valentine's Day is a rather innocuous holiday. We talk about how much we love our families and friends, and we make cards and collages to share with the people we love the most. Everyone receives a bag full of cards and candy; no one is left out.
Over the years, I've tried out lots of containers for valentines, those tangible tokens of love and affection that kids exchange in classrooms all over the country this time of year. White lunch bags are a little too small for all of the cards and candy that my students bring. Plastic milk jugs work well, and are quite sturdy, but they require too much teacher preparation, since preschoolers have trouble cutting off the tops. We don't have time to cover and decorate empty cereal boxes or Kleenex boxes; besides, we don't have a place to store them while we're collecting enough for thirty-five kids and five adults.
Our school secretary found some large white paper bags at a local cleaning supply store. I don't know what they are really meant for, but they make great valentine bags. My preschool students loved cutting out hearts of all sizes and colors, and gluing them to the bags. We added a few stickers, and that's all there was to it. (No glitter this time.) Tomorrow morning, we'll take them out of the closet, line them up on our tables, and let the kids fill them. Even though the bags are bigger than usual this year, I expect them to be full, because most of the kids will bring candy or cookies as well as cards.
We don't have school on Valentine's Day this year, so we are celebrating a couple of days early. The kids won't care. They won't know the difference, since this will be the first time many of them have ever celebrated Valentine's Day. We keep it simple. We'll sing a few Valentine's songs and read a couple of stories, we'll eat a special snack, and then the children will dump their bags of goodies onto the floor in front of them so they can sort through their treasures. They'll save their candy to eat at home--teacher's rule!
Outside of preschool, Valentine's Day means more (or, often, less) for many people. Beginning as early as the 1400's, people began to send notes and flowers to the people they loved. Eventually, the holiday was promoted and perpetuated by greeting card companies, florists, and jewelers. Some people agonize over the holiday; others would rather forget about it altogether. Most people are unaware of the original Christian martyr named Valentine, who defied the Roman ruler by conducting marriage ceremonies for young soldiers and the women they loved. He was thrown to the lions because he cared about others.
There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. John 15:13
Those Valentine's bags and boxes, filled with cards and goodies, are so important for the kids, just as flowers and cards are important to the rest of us, because people have a great need to know they are loved. I read an appropriate quote today, attributed to Lewis Carroll: "All that is really worth the doing is what we do for others." This Valentine's Day, instead of worrying that no one will give us the candy or flowers that we really want, it might be better to think of a way to show our loved ones how much we care. Hmmm. I could bake a cake, handcraft a card, make a phone call, write a personal note...
Just as the song tells us, we can't put Jesus' love in a box. But there are other ways to show his love, and ours. We have time. Valentine's Day is still a couple of days away. What should we do for those we love this Valentine's Day?
Oh, you can't put Jesus' love in a box,
'Cause his love will come a-bubbling through.
When I taught in Christian schools, this was a song we sang around Valentine's Day. The kids understood--it's just silly to think that we can put love in a box. And Jesus' love certainly doesn't fit into any container, no matter how big. His love has no limits; it is intangible, untouchable, and essential.
In public school, Valentine's Day is a rather innocuous holiday. We talk about how much we love our families and friends, and we make cards and collages to share with the people we love the most. Everyone receives a bag full of cards and candy; no one is left out.
Over the years, I've tried out lots of containers for valentines, those tangible tokens of love and affection that kids exchange in classrooms all over the country this time of year. White lunch bags are a little too small for all of the cards and candy that my students bring. Plastic milk jugs work well, and are quite sturdy, but they require too much teacher preparation, since preschoolers have trouble cutting off the tops. We don't have time to cover and decorate empty cereal boxes or Kleenex boxes; besides, we don't have a place to store them while we're collecting enough for thirty-five kids and five adults.
Our school secretary found some large white paper bags at a local cleaning supply store. I don't know what they are really meant for, but they make great valentine bags. My preschool students loved cutting out hearts of all sizes and colors, and gluing them to the bags. We added a few stickers, and that's all there was to it. (No glitter this time.) Tomorrow morning, we'll take them out of the closet, line them up on our tables, and let the kids fill them. Even though the bags are bigger than usual this year, I expect them to be full, because most of the kids will bring candy or cookies as well as cards.
We don't have school on Valentine's Day this year, so we are celebrating a couple of days early. The kids won't care. They won't know the difference, since this will be the first time many of them have ever celebrated Valentine's Day. We keep it simple. We'll sing a few Valentine's songs and read a couple of stories, we'll eat a special snack, and then the children will dump their bags of goodies onto the floor in front of them so they can sort through their treasures. They'll save their candy to eat at home--teacher's rule!
Outside of preschool, Valentine's Day means more (or, often, less) for many people. Beginning as early as the 1400's, people began to send notes and flowers to the people they loved. Eventually, the holiday was promoted and perpetuated by greeting card companies, florists, and jewelers. Some people agonize over the holiday; others would rather forget about it altogether. Most people are unaware of the original Christian martyr named Valentine, who defied the Roman ruler by conducting marriage ceremonies for young soldiers and the women they loved. He was thrown to the lions because he cared about others.
There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. John 15:13
Those Valentine's bags and boxes, filled with cards and goodies, are so important for the kids, just as flowers and cards are important to the rest of us, because people have a great need to know they are loved. I read an appropriate quote today, attributed to Lewis Carroll: "All that is really worth the doing is what we do for others." This Valentine's Day, instead of worrying that no one will give us the candy or flowers that we really want, it might be better to think of a way to show our loved ones how much we care. Hmmm. I could bake a cake, handcraft a card, make a phone call, write a personal note...
Just as the song tells us, we can't put Jesus' love in a box. But there are other ways to show his love, and ours. We have time. Valentine's Day is still a couple of days away. What should we do for those we love this Valentine's Day?
Comments
Post a Comment