What is a Blessing?
Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary defines the word ‘Blessing’ as, “The act or words of one that blesses.” as well as, “A thing conductive to happiness or welfare.”
Personally, I think the dictionary could have worked a little harder on their definition, but maybe that’s just me (I mean really, who uses the word ‘thing’ in a definition??). Honestly, it’s hard to put a definition on something so vast. What is a blessing? How does one define it, truly? Is it some random act from our Creator above? Can a human being actually be called a Blessing? Or is the term simply used so much that it’s lost all meaning?
To me, blessings are unexpected bursts of sunshine in an otherwise cloudy day. It’s not like the blessing found in Jacob and Esau stories, but instead, a conscious act that humans partake in. Often I see these blessings as a gift that comes directly from God. Every act, in my eyes, is God-breathed and God-given. Whether it be a smile, a knowing hug, or an unexpected gift-I feel that God knows your heart, and is willing to send other creations to comfort your soul.
This year, the 12th grade UW English class is partaking in what is being called “The Happiness Project”. As students, we have noticed that the world is lacking kindness. People just aren’t loving enough in a world where love is our main form of connection within people. The Happiness Project aims to brighten the lives of random students by doing random acts of kindness. This includes things such as writing every student a birthday note for their special day, emailing a student out of the blue simply to ask “What’s up?”, and participating in Praise Raids. Praise Raids are a personal favourite of mine. Our whole class gets to go into another classroom with sticky notes, and we aren’t allowed to leave until every student of the class we’re raiding has two sticky notes of encouragement on their backs. Through this project, we are aiming for students to feel like they are known, and that they are loved.
The Happiness Project is our senior class’ way of blessing students. And truly, a blessing can be as simple as a sticky note. Through these little acts of kindness, community is built among students. You go down the halls feeling more welcome, as you know that someone knows you’re there. And that’s our goal, to build a community within the students of Lynden Christian. We now have the opportunity to be God’s vessels of blessing as we go about our lives, blessing one student after another.
