|
In the Beginning Was the Word…
This is a passage I look forward to every year during the candlelight Christmas Eve service, and a passage that has taken on such deep, deep meaning for me in my work with children's literacy.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through him,
and without him not one thing came into being.
What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overtake it.
-- John 1:1-5
I simply do not believe that God intended the Word and the written word to be available only to a select few. Literacy is a right, not a privilege. For children who might never leave the county, it is a chance to go to Paris with Madeleine. For people who might never meet a biologist working to keep an animal from extinction, it is a chance to meet Jane Goodall and so much more. The world is opened when we open a book. And to a child living in an untenable situation, it is a way to escape to a better place, even if only for a few minutes.
The gift of Christmas is God dwelling amongst us. The Word is coming to life. Our role is to help that happen for others.
This past summer, one of our struggling readers in summer camp was working with his Reading Buddy. He had been very frustrated about not being able to read, and we kept encouraging him. From the other side of the room, I hear him exclaim, “Dog! Dog, dog, dog.” As I make my way over, I see a beaming reading buddy next to him holding the book, “Go Dog, Go!” And the light shines in the darkness.
May your days be filled with terrific books that take you to places and introduce you to people you might have otherwise missed.
Kercida McClain
LEER Director
McCurdy Ministries
| 
