Sunday School

Whether you’re a professional creative like me, a hobby artist, or simply an appreciator of the arts, I think we can agree that art holds value. Art causes us to reflect. Art inspires, encourages, uplifts, entertains, engages, and so much more. And now more than ever in these challenging times of living in a global pandemic, the arts seem especially important in bringing joy to our days. People are rediscovering the joys and rewards of creating—whether stitching face masks, painting uplifting signs, penning encouraging notes, filming funny videos, or baking bread.

To read to a child is, in my opinion, one of life’s sweetest blessings. The physical closeness, the connection, the learning and delighting in images and words from the pages of a book strengthen family bonds. I chose those books for my granddaughter with care.

For those of us in ministry, we recognize this also as a season of ministry growth. Newly-christened planners, schedules, and a desire for routine predictably produce a new crop of kids into children’s and youth ministries. New leaders, both paid and volunteer, join ministries.

The camp soon offered me the position of program director. I accepted with no idea of what I was getting myself into.

The night before staff training, my grandmother died in Colorado. I waved goodbye to my parents as they left without me for the funeral and I drove the hour to camp with tears streaming down my cheeks.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26, NKJV)

Those words remain upon my heart, imprinted there decades ago as a child attending Sunday morning worship services in a rural Minnesota church. That blessing spoken by the pastor still gives me peace and prompts treasured memories of what followed—Sunday school.

There was a lot of certainty when I grew up in the church: Doubt is a sin. It’s just wrong. To doubt means I’ve lost my faith and need to get saved again.

But being told I was faithless or just needed to have faith never removed my doubts. To doubt is human. We are taught to be doubters in a difficult world full of lies and near-truths. To survive, we need to question and doubt.

For families today, life is busier than ever. There are play dates to keep, story hours to attend, sporting events to get to, school work to complete and much more. Throw in tech time and seemingly few moments remain for just quiet time. The busyness of work, schedules, commitments and daily life overwhelms.

Welcoming these differing abilities and trying to connect with each student brought its challenges for me as a teacher. I tried right at the beginning of each year to find out what individual students liked and what they thought they were good at. It helped me to know the students better and to plan for learning.

My husband and I raised a son who was (and still is) high on the intelligence scale. He was asking deep questions from a young age. I think he would wake up in this deep frame of mind, because he often seemed to ask these kinds of questions while I was trying to get him, his sister, and myself ready on a work-day morning.

I’ve recently taken a break from teaching Sunday school after twenty-five years or so of continual teaching. As I think about it, I wonder what all the children I’ve taught through the years will remember about me, about my class. Ideally, I want them to remember me as someone who really loved the Lord and loved them and who showed them Jesus.