“Lesson One” (Genesis 2,3; Exodus 3,4; Psalm 19:1-4a) ”

If I were teaching Spanish class today,
I’d start with “ser” and “estar” – help folks say,
“I am”, “you are”, “s/he will be”, and “we were” –
“Yo soy” right at the center, that is, “ser”.

When Moses saw a burning bush one day
While tending sheep, he marveled – heard God say,
“I want you to go back, set people free –
From centuries of slavery – for Me”

“And who should I say sent me, might I ask?”
“ ‘I am’, said God, ‘Yo soy’ – for in the past,
Before I made the universe and you,
‘I am’ is how I thought of what I do.

“And furthermore, when I invented man,
From which sprang forth all peoples (as I can),
I made man in My image – that’s ‘I am’;
In Spanish, that’s ‘yo soy’ – the ‘I’ in ‘can’.

“So stay in Me and I in you each day;
You’ll be my arms and legs as I display
My heart and will – to set all people free,
Despite the fact they’ve walked away from Me.”

So in first Spanish lesson, I would teach –
“Yo soy”, “I am” – a place we all can reach
Because of who we are, have been, will be;
A central core, that does not change – you see –

In Spanish, things that do not change with speed,
Use “ser” – as verb expressing thought, “to be”;
When some things change much faster (like our mood),
Then they use “estar” – changing’s understood.

In English we have just one verb, “to be” –
Things change, or not; but Spanish speakers see
It has important to reflect that fact –
“I’m boring”, or “I’m bored” reflecting that.

So lesson one would form my central core
Of Spanish – spreading out, I’d share some more;
But always knowing what is true of God,
Is “stillness”, “being”, – likewise, men of sod.

“So as you learn your Spanish lessons, Stu,
Keep that thought as your center-point, and do
The many tasks of language-school each day
Out from that central whirling point and say –

“ ‘I am’, ‘you are’, ‘we will be’, ‘all have been’;
In essence, just like God, ‘as one’– we’ve seen
‘Rock-steadiness’, and ‘Hopefulness’ played out
Amidst the winds, and pinwheel’s spin of doubt”.

Thanks Lord for this.

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