Play! Listen! Talk!

“Oh, no!” I thought as I looked at the prep needed for this Sunday’s art activity. “I’ve got to cut a bunch of little paper circles to make ornaments.” What a bother! But I know how much kids love to glue and create, so I gathered up some paper and went to work tracing circles. It was mindless work!

But as my mind wandered, I started thinking of the kids in my class. As I thought of each one, I started praying that he or she would come and that I would have an opportunity to share God’s Word in meaningful ways. As I prayed, the prep work went amazingly fast! (I ended up tracing a circle pattern from a drinking glass, but I decided to let the kids cut out their own ornaments.)

God answered my prayers when a little girl came who had been absent for several weeks. God’s Word was shared as we talked about God’s love. We wrote down the names of every child in the class. When we said our Bible verse, "God loves us and sent his Son," we said our names instead of the word "us." Even better, we demonstrated God’s love—even as a young boy needed extra encouragement to listen when others were talking.

Too often I resolve to pray for each child during the week, but end up putting my resolve aside. But now, I think my prep time will be known as “prep and pray time.” Just what I need, and just what the kids in my class need, too.