It has been a joy this fall to be able to see at-school classrooms active again. I stayed for a classroom prayer recently, during which a long-ago-memory of my toddler nephew came to mind. He was keen to follow the pattern of his older siblings in reciting:
“God is good, God is great
Let us thank Him for our food.
By his hands, we are fed,
Thank-you Lord, for daily bread. Amen”
Unable to say or understand the words spoken by his siblings, his exuberant version went as follows:
God is great, God is great!
God is great, God is great!
God is great, God is great!
God is great, God is great! Amen!
In his mind, he was participating just as equally as his siblings. Perhaps his rhythmically perfect version contained as much meaning and purpose as his siblings well-practiced versions. The repeated prayer became like were well-worn grooves in their minds and hearts, reminding them of the gift of food by God’s provision.
I’ve noticed that patterns and habits fall off easily
in our
COVID confusion as we find ourselves in unusual situations and perplexing decision
pathways. In the middle of all of this, how do you instruct children to live
faithfully? It strikes me that one of the loudest “voices” in cultivating
faithfulness in young children are structures that gently, but deliberately
guide them to recognize that God made them, God loves them, and God knows them
“by name.” (Isa. 43:1) What a rich blessing that those “patterns of
faithfulness” in even the smallest of things can start at home and continue
here at LCES. Praise God for Christian education; may it bear fruit in the
lives of our children!
SJ
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