A person's a person, no matter how small

Today I had the privilege to sit back and enjoy the fruits of several months of hard work. I am the middle school drama club sponsor for the school where I work. We teamed up with the elementary chorus and the music teacher this year for our school's first ever "real" musical.  By "real" musical, I mean there are musical numbers with dancing, costumes, makeup, lights, sets, and it was about an hour and a half long, twice as long as last year's "musical" that I helped with (which was more of a concert with costumes and a plot).  We gave two performances this morning for the children at school and we will give two more on Friday off campus for parents and the public.

This experience has been one of the most stressful I have had to face in my job so far, but today it was all worth it.

Since January, we have been telling them how wonderful and talented they are.  We have been teaching and encouraging them until we felt like we couldn't anymore, sometimes with little result (much to our frustration).  Today, we had to say a prayer and then put all of the work we've done over the past few months into their hands.  I knew that the shows would be great, but I didn't know that the kids were capable of what they achieved today.  They were phenomenal!  They told their stories and created a world for the audience to step into.  They spoke to my heart very deeply.  They spoke of love, of sacrifice, of sticking to your guns, of believing in yourself, and of knowing that you are worth it regardless of how you look.

As I watched them, I realized just how blessed I am.  I don't always feel it, but I am blessed to know each one of them.  I am blessed to work where I work and with the people I work with.  I am grateful for the opportunity to teach each of these children.

There's more I want to say about all this, but the words escape me.  It's past my bedtime and today has been a long day,  Not to mention, we still have two more performances later this week!  But hey, I had to post before midnight so I could meet my quota.  =]

Lord, 

Thank You for all of the blessings You give me.  Thank You for the people You put into my life.  Help me to always see each person in my life as a blessing-especially when it is difficult to love them.  Bless all those who worked to make Seussical happen and please bless our dress rehearsal and performances later this week.  Help the kids to use their talents to give You glory.  Let them always know Your love.  

Amen