In an exceptional moment where life surprises me with such a unique encounter, I rarely have my wits about me to speak a word. Today I was witness to a conversation which I could not have anticipated so I just sat and absorbed all I could take from it. It all started this morning. I went into school early to finish administering the oral portion of a standardized test with one of my fifth graders. It only took a few minutes, and I was grateful when Marie Odile invited me to have a coffee with her before the whirlwind of lessons consumed the rest of my day. She's an administrator at the school and one of my favorite people with whom I work. Not long after we were seated with mugs in hand, Madame Corny (our school's principal) requested if a 4th grader could join us. As a child it would have been quite a privilege to be hosted by adults in the forbidden teachers' lounge. Something unfortunate had occurred with Alexandre to afford him this opportunity.
Last weekend Alexandre's grandmother died. I learned this before I even learned his name. He's not one of my students because his teacher instructs English quite well despite being French. Before long I discovered that Alexandre has a 17 year old brother and a 5 year old sister. He had been excused from class because he was overwhelmed by the sadness and grief of losing his "mami". She was 80 years old. His parents had insisted on him attending school today as he would be absent tomorrow for her funeral.
I was struck by two things. The first being that Alexandre, who is probably 9 or 10 years old, was so close and knew so much about his grandparents. At some points, I believed I was close with my grandparents. It's complicated for me; divorce in my family has yielded more grandparents than a Piccadilly cafeteria could. In truth, I've known 5 grandmothers, 1 great-grandmother, and 4 grandfathers. As we speak (or rather, as you read), there are likely to be more because I have never met my father's current wife. Some may suggest that marriage simply does not a family make. This is beside the point that I really want to focus on. All I'd really like to say is that I've had 10 opportunities to be close to one grandparent yet have never had the kind of relationship which little Alexandre seemed to share with his grandmother. Though I don't envy his loss, I do envy that special kind of love between grandparents and grandchildren.
A second aspect resonated with me. As I was made mute by the seriousness of the conversation, I listened attentively to all that Marie Odile said to comfort Alexandre. Each time Alexandre spoke and a new wave of tears began streaming down his face, she aimed to prevent him from really crying. This is not to say she was unkind to him. Rather she spoke to him as if he was much older. She asked good questions about his grandmother, and while he answered, she said, "c'est la vie." Marie Odile repeated phrases like "80 is a good age" and "there's a certain age when it's normal to expect/anticipate death" or "she lived a full life". The last expression has a way of sounding lovelier in French {elle a bien vécu}. To my astonishment, she went on to tell Alexandre that one day his mother would die, his sister would die, each member of the family would die. It's simply a part of life.
I'm not sure if I would have approach the situation with such a realist perspective. I'd rather scoop up Alexandre and let him cry and talk about his grandmother. I'd hope to tell him that what he learns in his religion class is important because if what the Bible says is true, then there need not be any fear of death.
A brief time out~I am aware that a number of my friends who read this blog are not Christians. I'm not trying to pull a fast one on you and force my religion on you. If you'd rather avoid the Jesus talk, please feel free to scroll on below where I have much to share in the Show & Tell portion.
God has a special way of promoting certain themes in my life when it seems he wants me to understand something. Alexandre's loss has helped me synthesize some of my reflections on what has been coming up in Bible study, church, and devotion time. A couple of weeks ago, I would have told you that the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ were complicated to explain. Thankfully, our friend Steve said that it's not complicated, but it is complex. What Christ achieved was immense, and for me, life altering. Early in my faith I understood that he died for my sins; that is, he took the punishment for all the wrong I've done and will do in my life. I have but to believe in him and repent to not be condemned to death. I also knew that by God's power to resurrect Jesus' life, death had been defeated. If I can trust that Jesus came back to life, I am free to believe that God can even give me a new life. Sorry for Gospel 101; I know many of you get this already.
What I'm only now fully starting to learn is how this fits with the fall of man and our natural state. Before Adam and Eve sinned, God told them that if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil they would surely die. The serpent convinced them that this was not true; instead they could eat from it and be like God. God had not lied. In their disobedience, they sinned. The consequences for sin is death. Ever since that day, we have been born into a state where we cannot help but sin, and thus according to God's judgment we deserve death. There you have Cliff's notes on Genesis 1-3.
I want to put this in other words. When God created Adam and Eve, he intended for them to live forever in relationship with him. As soon as they had corrupted themselves, they were bound to perish. Not to get all dorky, but I loved taking biology at Tech. One of the things important about plant life and the biosynthesis is the production of ethylene~a hormone which can yield many plant responses. External triggers (like the changing of a season) can prompt a plant to release this gas. As ethylene is a ripening agent, it speeds up the shelf life of a fruit, for instance. It hastens the changing of the leaves on a tree in autumn. It's a catalyst for plant maturity. The tricky thing about ethylene is that it affects neighboring plants. As they say, one bad apple spoils the bunch. In truth, it's more like one super ripe banana will wipe out your whole crisper. How does this relate to our first parents? It is to say that ethylene to me is biology's illustration of sin. The plant is always able to produce it, but an external factor can provoke the production of ethylene prematurely. Once it is released, it can spread easily to the individual plants living closest to the original producer. In the same way, Adam and Eve were always capable of sinning; however, they didn't until they were both tempted. Eve sinned first, and Adam, being her closest companion, readily accepted the same sin. It's not a direct parallel, but I like the comparison.
To take the analogy further (if you can bear it), it is like we are living in a perpetual late fall/early winter in terms of sin. So long as plants are releasing ethylene in this season, there will be no new growth on a tree, shrub, porch planter, etc. Similarly, so long as there is sin in our lives, there can be no new life in Christ. We are born into this state~ into a world where life seems to mature too quickly and end abruptly in death. As Marie Odile said, c'est la vie~that's life. She, along with many others, accept that this is how it must be. There is no changing it. One can easily see how openly death is embraced in French literature~ though not exalted or praise, no French classic is complete without death.
I see vividly now that it need not be this way. It certainly is not permanently Fall for me. In the same way that scientist have discovered Aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), Aminooxyacetic acid (AOA), and silver ions can inhibit the effects of ethylene, God has given me his Holy Spirit to prevent me from sinning in my own life. The Holy Spirit preserves me despite external provocations which tempt me to sin. Because I accepted what Jesus did and believe in him, the Holy Spirit is a gift who guarantees I have been sealed to eternal life with God~ just as it was meant to be from the beginning. Cue victorious music!
What a tangent (just to keep it dorky~ what a Sin X/Cos X)! I wish I knew little Alexandre well enough to tell him that death doesn't have to be the end. In a great many ways, it will be wonderful to be free of the sorrow in this world and enjoy the splendor of an uncorrupted life with a caring God. It will be a beautiful thing.
(phew... *deep breath*) And now, time for
SHOW & TELL!!!! It's still a grade school classic.
This has nothing to do with student art, but how magnificent is cookie dough with real Reese's Pieces and real Nestle chocolate chips. Thank you Hamiltons for our package full of quality American goods!
This is Ali's first contribution to my private collection. I believe it's part human & part penguin on a strict diet of broccoli.
Yikes! Anne Geddes has a French division?!? Marina surprised me with this little postcard last Friday. It frightens Kyle...
Return to sender~ apparently Marina considers me her 2nd teacher. They say 1st is the worst...
The artful Yeliz never ceases to amaze me with her drawing skills. What the heck is a Magpie?
Apparently Thursday, April 29th was a big day in Marina's world. The guy thinking of the letter "c" has a perfectly round head.
I've only had 5 work days since the vacation, and the children have already filled my bulletin board. It's good to be the 2nd teacher after all. I hope you are having a lovely day where ever that may be. Happy May! I hope you are having some warmer weather than I have. I wore my winter coat to school today. Never in a million years did I imagine there was a day in May on this Earth that would be this cold (except for maybe the Southern Hemisphere... ) A plus!
