God, we ask that You be with all teachers today

And let them know

Their influence in their students’ lives

Will forever show

Let patience, compassion, and vision

Temper the knowledge they share

And give them understanding for well-meaning parents

That sometimes can be difficult to bear

Keep teachers and students

Well and safe from harm

And make them sensitive

To important emotional and mental alarm

Fill them with the strength and endurance

To remember rewards are slow to manifest

And their responsible good work

Will certainly reap a beneficial harvest

We offer great thankfulness

For those You selected to teach

For the lesson plans today

Will infinitely shape the goals each seek to reach

The monster lurked around every corner

Stealing fun and building moats in which to propagate

Its path left littered with destruction

Leaving non-healing wounds and life altering barriers

Impossible to exterminate successfully once given a start

The roots lie deep and grip one’s very soul

Are nurtured with the trusted love of infancy

And fertilized with multiple sources of well meaning intentions

Disguised behind the good

It feeds on love, heritage, religion and tradition

Destroying individual esteem unnoticed

Then devouring positive futures one at a time

The good turns to rot bit by bit

Until it is accepted as normal

It is a handy tool necessary for building

And used frequently to polish character

But when overdone it weaves itself into one’s being

To takeover will and steal  joy

Snuff out  talent and altar one’s fruitful journey

Until one becomes so filled that it consumes all

It is important not to help its cause

For although it may be invisible

It is everywhere and is devastating to confront

Eventually it becomes the monster that forever sleeps under the bed

I was but a single molecule

Minuscule

Witnessing people gallant

With talent

They sat

To chat

Focused on solutions

Not illusions

I gazed

Amazed

At genius

Generous

Individual

Calm and Casual

Pooling intelligence

For excellence

Inevitable unavoidable change

Always lurks around the corners

Waiting patiently beyond seeing range

Keeping feet unsteady and precariously balancing on the borders

Commanding incredible amounts of serious thinking

Destroying the luxury of mindless routine comfort

Unwelcome consciousness in the creating

Disburses uneasy demands on personal effort

No turning back at yesterday to look

The new awakening of change will not content allow

New chapters building the pages of the book

Change personal expectations, perspectives, and force accountability now

I stood beneath the moonlit sky

Awed by its overwhelming magnitude

A magical glow illuminated the trees

And wrapped its arms softly around me

Stars blinked with an inconsistent eye

Some darting around

While others just shined shy

I became as a baby in the darkness

Cradled by the fresh country air

And soothed by the sweet melody

Of a gentle mother’s song

The moonlit clouds warmly glowed

As they slowly drifted along-

The exhilarating evening beauty

Had instantly my hectic life slowed

I could feel my spirit lifting

Becoming one with the peaceful calm

Recharged, regenerated, and refreshed

For I was seeing, touching,

And talking with God

Words spoken are heard

But often fade and fall to the ground

Without a sound

Actions kind and silent

Felt with the heart

Nurture from the start

Deeds devour hollow words

Digesting the nutrients

Growing confidence

But a team of words and deeds in sync

Make the words heavy with substance

Resulting in a powerful circumstance

Deep and abiding love is so difficult to grow

For first a seed of interest must mutually exist

Between the minds and each accepting soul

Both must be focused and willing to embark

On a treacherous path of life

To be conquered together before the dark

The dangers disabled by the team along the way

Combine to form and strengthen the pillars

Upon which love is able to stay