Emmanuel Lutheran Church

December 15, 2011

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

This past summer Jake and I saw a delightful movie called The Help. It was about a young college graduate in the early 1960’s. With her journalism degree in hand and high hopes for the future, she returns to her small Mississippi home. She reconnects with snobbish upperclass friends whose main goals in life are to be married, have children, and maintain their social status. They had all grown up with black domestic help and, of course, believed that one must have help because one is so busy with one’s social calendar and next charitablefund-raising cause.

I would recommend seeing this movie because there is a more in-depth story line that I won’t give away. However, there is a line in the movie that I just can’t forget, one I’ve got to share with you. It’s what the maid teaches the unhappy little girl in her care to say and to always remember:

“I is kind, I is smart, I is impo’tant.”

(I wish you could hear the Mississippi accent; it would make you smile.) I have used this line with myself on days when I forget my meaning in life—when I think there is no one who cares for me (Boohoo!), and I am sure the world is passing me by. It’s then when I cheer myself up with this line, and I often say out loud: “I is kind, I is smart, I is impo’tant!” It seems to break the spell of self-sabotage, and my thoughts turn to the truth and away from negative feelings.

That’s what the words in John 1:14 remind me of—the truth that God sent to you and me The Help of Jesus to show us that he loves us and has a perfect way to follow. Just think: the one and only Son of God, Jesus, walking in human flesh, full of grace and truth, giving us a glimpse of God’s glory and loving us through it all!

Wow! Can’t you just hear God saying, “YOU IS IMPO’TANT!”?

Dawn Schmidt

Christmas Movies to Watch Together

1. The Polar Express (2004)
2 The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
3. Home Alone (1990)
4. Holiday Inn (1942)
5. White Christmas (1954)
6. The Santa Clause (1994)
7. Elf (2003)
8. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
9. A Christmas Story (1983)
10.It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Christmas Stories to Read Together

1. The Polar Express, Van Allsburg
2. Life & Adventures of Santa Claus, Baum
3. The Night Before Christmas, Moore
4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Seuss
5. The Little Match Girl, Andersen
6. The Tale of Three Trees, Hunt
7. The Very First Christmas, Maier
8. Eloise at Christmastime, Thompson
9. Christmas in the Big Woods, Wilder
10.Christmas Day in the Morning, Buck