I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. John 17:6
Thou our father, Christ our brother,
All who live in love are thine:
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.
--(Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee) Henry Van Dyke
Last December my co-teacher, Barb, and I were telling our 3-year-old preschool students the Nativity story. I made a point of explaining what a manger is and how it made a good substitute for a baby bed. The story ended with the visit of the Wise Men, and the children thought gold and perfume were strange gifts for a baby. So we asked them, "What present would you give to Baby Jesus?" Our little geniuses came up with very practical gifts: a crib and a blanket, a teddy bear, baby clothes, little socks, a high chair. The last child to speak was Nicky and the conversation went something like this:"Nicky, what would you give to Baby Jesus?"
"A broler."
Barb and I looked at each other. Nicky's mother is from Peru and he is bilingual, but every now and then we couldn't understand something he said, and this was one of those times.
"Say that again."
"A broler."
"One more time."
“A broler."
It was clear Nicky knew what he was saying but we were clueless.
I started rhyming in my head--what would rhyme with broler that would have to do with a baby?
"Ah-ha. Nicky, do you mean a stroller? You want the baby to have a stroller so he can take walks?"
"No, a brooo-ler." He was clearly becoming frustrated, and he clearly had something to tell us.
It was Barb who finally figured it out. "Nicky, are you saying brother?"
"Yes, yes, a broler!"
(Barb and I shared a teary-eyed "ahhh......")
Do I need to keep writing? The child wanted to give Baby Jesus a brother. What better gift could any of us give than the gift of a brother or sister, our own lives?
Dear Lord, May we always see you and your world through the eyes of a child. Help us to be deserving to be called your brothers and sisters. Amen.
Anita Farrell
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