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 On a rainy
evening, somewhere close to Thanksgiving, my daughter, Savannah,
reminded me how important and memorable Vacation Bible School can be
for a child. We had been talking about thankfulness. It
was a common topic around our house, given the upcoming holiday and
had been ever since I had started a gratitude journal several years
beforehand. This is how our conversation went:
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"Mommy,
do you know what I'm thankful for?" Savannah asked as she
colored in her coloring book at the kitchen counter.
"No,
Savannah," I replied as I was cooking dinner.
"What are you thankful for?"
"I'm
thankful for Bible School."
"You
are?" I asked happily surprised. "How
come?" I wanted to know what was going on inside her little
head.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I think
because it's so much fun."
"What's fun about it?" I always
ask lots of questions. The answers are too good not to.
"Being Baby Jesus," she replied not
looking up from her coloring page. "I was Baby Jesus
and Hannah was Mary."
"Who was Joseph?"
"I don't know," she said.
"But the little girl who didn't know about Jesus was a
shepherd."
"Oh," I replied. "There was
a little girl in your class who didn't know about Jesus?"
"Mmm-Hmm, but she knows about Jesus
now."
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Because I prayed for her."
The conversation continued a little longer.
Savannah gave me the details on her prayer and how at Bible School
they prayed every day. Savannah is three. At Bible
School last year, she had just turned three, yet she has learned
that if you have enough faith, with prayer, anything is possible.
She didn't tell me she prayed for the little girl to have Jesus in
her heart. She said the little girl has Jesus in her heart.
She truly believed that because that's what she prayed for and she
knows that God answers prayer. Her belief may be a little
ragged around the edges. She doesn't yet understand that God
answers your prayers according to His will, but she knows enough
to know that prayer is the answer for any situation you may
encounter.
As parents, Merritt and I try to back up everything
our children learn at church by following through at home.
It's not easy. Children watch your every move and they are
quick to point the finger when you do something wrong.
Vacation Bible School is one of the easiest ways we can teach our
children the basics of Christianity. They listen. They
take what they learn into their homes. They tell Mom and Dad
what they did that day. They remember. What a
blessing.
Paula Draper
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