And a little child shall lead them

Lydia lives in two worlds. Well, three if you count the one inside her head. The other two are "Church World and "School World". They are far removed from one another in many ways and rarely intersect. Her school is 30 miles away from our house in an entirely different city. There are only a handful of students there that attend our church and none of them are in her class. There isn't one child, not one family in her class that even knew us when Rebekah was born. Even so, Lydia wanted them to participate in Rebekah's Rainbow.

I was more than a little apprehensive about this since I figured none of them really understood what we were doing. I was afraid she was setting herself up for disappointment and the kids would be less than thrilled to be asked to make a sacrifice based on something they had never experienced. She kept insisting and I relented. Her teacher asked me to send a letter home to the parents explaining the concept. We set the date for November 7th and I held my breath and waited for today to come.

This morning, instead of their Bible lesson, Mrs. Wahlman had me read a story I had written for the kids (illustrated by Lydia, of course). I then read a devotional about what it means to give to others out of the abundance that you have been blessed with. I stopped for a moment and hesitantly asked if anyone had thought of a sacrifice to write on their balloon. To my astonishment, every hand shot up in the air and I saw eager smiles on each face. They couldn't wait to tell me what they had done!

Some had cleaned their mom's bedrooms without being asked. One volunteered to take out the garbage for his dad for 2 whole weeks. One was allowing her little sister to go first....in everything! One was giving all the money in her piggy bank to her church. Another wanted to give her money to a poor family. Even Lydia's teacher was surprising two friends in need with dinner. I was completely overwhelmed and I'll admit, a bit ashamed. It's a little too easy for me to limit the family of God to the church walls I am surrounded by each Sunday.

This afternoon, we all gathered in a beautiful field next to the school. We sang "Jesus Loves Me" and "Happy Birthday" and then released our balloons. The children applauded and I cried and laughed all at once.

I am thankful for the faith of my daughter and the faithfulness of the body of Christ. More than anything, though, I'm thankful for Jesus. He showed off again today and I love Him for it.