GOD’S LITTLE KIDS
by Mariane Holbrook
There’s no question that God loves kids; He made so many of them.
The thing about kids’ behavior in church is that it’s just so unscripted. No
amount of planning and coaching promises a flawless performance. And
that’s good. I wouldn’t have it any other way. And probably God wouldn’t,
either.
Here are four of my favorite kid stories, all of which are true.
1. We took our visiting step-granddaughter, Ella, to our small Baptist church in
the mountains a few years ago. Never having attended a communion service,
Ella was wide-eyed when communion was served. She carefully selected a piece of broken cracker from the silver tray, waited until the appropriate time to
eat it, then in a loud stage whisper asked, "Do we get the cheese next?"
2. During the worship service at my friend’s church in northern Virginia, the pastor
invited all the children to the platform for an impromptu portrayal of the birth of Jesus. Following instructions, a four-year-old girl placed a soccer ball under her skirt to become an instant, very pregnant Virgin Mary. As St. Luke’s story
was read aloud by the pastor, the birth of baby Jesus took an unexpected twist when the soccer ball fell to the floor, rolled off the stage and down the
center aisle of the sanctuary, to the roar of delighted parishioners. The distraught Virgin Mary sat down on the floor of the platform, pulled her skirt
over her head and cried over her premature delivery of the Savior of the world.
3. Still another friend told me that her son, who was pastor of a church in Ohio,
invited his sons age eight and ten to help him prepare the sacraments for Palm
Sunday, hoping their participation would for make communion more meaningful
to them.
Setting out three hundred communion glasses, he instructed the boys to fill each one with wine while he dressed in an ante-room for the service.
Five minutes before the worship service began, he hurried back to check on his sons, dismayed to find that every glass had been filled to the brim.
Knowing the ordained elders would spill them when serving the parishioners, the pastor found two thin coffee-stirring straws from McDonalds and told his sons to
quickly sip a small amount of wine from each little glass. The pastor left them alone to finish while he rushed back to the sanctuary to begin the service.
Communion was later served without a hitch. But on the floor of a small room behind the platform lay two very sick little boys clutching their aching stomachs
while rushing to the bathroom, convinced that communion Sundays were highly over-rated.
4. My 75-year-old friend in Denver stood before the altar rail with her Sunday
School class of five-year-olds waiting for the pastor’s mini-sermon for children
to begin. The pastor asked the children gathered around him if they had any
prayer requests that the church could pray with them about.
Quickly, little Julie’s hand shot up as she asked the congregation to pray for her
mommy and the new baby she was expecting.
Turning to my lovely, elderly friend in full view of the congregation, Julie said. "And you can help, too, teacher. Will you come to our house
and help satisfy my daddy cuz mommy says my daddy is never satisfied."
Gotta love ‘em.
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