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I found a really cute poem/letter to my parents for the end of the year but now I’m looking for something to give to my kids on the last day. Anyone have something? Here’s the one I “borrowed/stole” from somewhere….I forget…

It’s cute!
Dear Parents,

I give you back your child, the same child you confidently entrusted to my care last fall. I give her back a few pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser, more responsible, and more mature then she was then.

Although she would have attained her growth in spite of me, it has been my pleasure and privilege to watch her personality unfold day by day and marvel at this splendid miracle of development.

I give her back reluctantly, for having spent nine months together in the narrow confines of a crowded classroom, we have grown close, have become a part of each other, and we shall always retain a little of each other.

Ten years from now if we met on the street, your child and I, a light will shine to our eyes, a smile to our lips, and we shall feel the bond of understanding once more, this bond we feel today.

We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned, and enriched our lives together this year. I wish it could go on indefinitely, but give her back I must. Take care of her, for she is precious.

Remember that I shall always be interested in your child and her destiny, wherever she goes, whatever she does, whoever she becomes. Her joys and sorrows, I’ll be happy to share.

I shall always be her friend.

If I were a memory I’d hold you there forever
Reminding you of the good times we shared together

If I were a smile on your face I would stay
Never to let sadness chase me too far away

If I were a teardrop I’d roll gently down from your eyes
Not to burn much but to mend your sweet cries

If I were a hand I’d want you to hold me in your own
Carry me through life .. even when I’m grown

If I were feet I would stay inline with you
So I could be with you in all that you do

If I were a shadow I would always follow
We’d face things together in all the tomorrows

If I were pain I’d stay far away from the start
To make sure you never felt me or I never broke your heart

If I were a song I’d be a sweet sound to your ears
To keep up your hopes and carry you through the years

If I were strength I’d give you my all
I’d hold you high and never let your fall

If I were your heart I’d be steady and true
I’d be there in every beat; staying strong for you

If I were the sun I’d shine down upon your face
Illuminate your smile and radiate through your grace

If I were a star I’d sparkle like your eyes
I would look upon your life and never stop my shine

I don’t know how good at those things I could be
I’m not any of them but this I want you to see

If I were a friend I couldn’t let you down
I’d never let you fall or walk away from me with a frown

If I were a friend I would hold your hand
I would be with you always, I hope you understand

If I were a friend I would give you my all
And though it’s not much, I’ll be there when you call

If I were a friend I’d be in every memory too
When you laughed, when you cried, I’d be with you

I CAN be these things, it’s not impossible to be a friend
I CAN be your best and I’ll be here till the end

If I were forever, you would be too
Together forever – me and you… 

If you are lucky in this life, 
you will get to help your enemy 
the way I got to help my mother
when she was weakened past the point of saying no.

Into the big enamel tub 
half-filled with water 
which I had made just right, 
I lowered the childish skeleton 
she had become.

Her eyelids fluttered as I soaped and rinsed 
her belly and her chest, 
the sorry ruin of her flanks 
and the frayed gray cloud 
between her legs.

Some nights, sitting by her bed 
book open in my lap 
while I listened to the air
move thickly in and out of her dark lungs, 
my mind filled up with praise 
as lush as music,

amazed at the symmetry and luck 
that would offer me the chance to pay 
my heavy debt of punishment and love 
with love and punishment.

And once I held her dripping wet 
in the uncomfortable air 
between the wheelchair and the tub, 
until she begged me like a child

to stop, 
an act of cruelty which we both understood
was the ancient irresistible rejoicing 
of power over weakness.

If you are lucky in this life, 
you will get to raise the spoon 
of pristine, frosty ice cream 
to the trusting creature mouth 
of your old enemy

because the tastebuds at least are not broken 
because there is a bond between you 
and sweet is sweet in any language.

Read: 1 Corinthians 5

Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. —1 Corinthians 5:7

Bible in a year:
Exodus 18-20

Several days before their New Year celebration, many Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. There’s a Cantonese saying that goes: “Wash away the dirt on ninyabaat” (28th day of month 12). They practice this tradition because it is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck.

When the apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Corinth, he asked them to give their lives a thorough cleansing—not for good luck but to please God. He told them to “purge out the old leaven” (1 Cor. 5:7).

Paul used the Jewish feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread (Ex. 12:1-28) as a backdrop for this statement. Leaven (yeast) was a symbol of sin and corruption and was to be removed from Jewish homes to celebrate these festivals (Deut. 16:3-4). Because Jesus is the Passover Lamb who cleanses us from sin, the Corinthians were to scour their hearts and remove the leaven of sexual immorality, malice, and wickedness from their lives and their assembly (1 Cor. 5:9-13).

Out of gratitude to Jesus for His sacrifice, let us purge out the sin in our lives and celebrate the holiness that only He can bring.

The holiness of God demands
A heart that’s pure within,
Yet grace unites with holiness
To purge the heart from sin. —D. De Haan

Sin’s contamination requires the Savior’s cleansing.

Acts 12:6-7 The night before Herod was going to bring him out to the people, Peter was sleeping between two guards. He was tied with two chains, and there were guards on duty at the prison gate. Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shone in the cell. The angel shook Peter by the shoulder, woke him up, and said, Hurry! Get up! At once the chains fell off Peter’s hands. (GNT)