Last week as I prepared to lock the doors after our Sunday church service and fellowship hour I saw one of the children finishing up something that was an important task to him before he could run out and join his family as they waited outside. With sincere and extreme care he was signing his name.
What caught my eye and touched my heart is the fact that this child was barely tall enough to reach on top of our welcome table. Our table, built by one of our community’s craftsmen, is 36 inches high. And this young member was about eye level with the cards he was signing. I have seen him and other children sign cards before, what stood out this time was the extra care and time he took.
I didn’t want to disturb his concentration, but I could see that he needed to be with his family. When I came up close and said your family is outside, I noticed the cause of his concentration. He was signing his name in cursive.
Wow, I said, you have learned cursive, and he grinned and kept on signing the last of the seven cards on the table. It was just one of those amazing moments in life when you feel so good about today and hopeful about tomorrow. I felt blessed to have been there. I was very impressed, not only by his cursive and his determination but also by his sense of the value of what he had just done. You could tell he knew what he was doing was important and would not fail in the task.
Where did he get that dedication? I think you know.
This table in our lobby at church is where our congregation signs cards for a variety of occasions. I might call it our “welcome table,” but it is also our prayer table. Most of the time we place cards there for members who have said they would like prayers for comfort or healing, often we will have a card of condolence for a family in grief. We also pray for the households of the parish asking God to bless homes and hearts of four of our families each week.
Each of those cards is a testimony of thoughtfulness and prayer. For years I have seen this little boy and his family sign the prayer cards. When he was even smaller his “mark” might have been a squiggle or a line. He was told by his family and by other members what these cards meant, they meant we are praying for others.
So there he was all by himself with no prompting from a parent or any adult; just doing what he had learned, to care about others and to let someone else feel the power of his concern. The answer to my earlier question, where did he get that dedication, and that sense of value, is obvious. From his family who brought him to church, and from the church which has nurtured his faith.
And now praying for others and giving his best is becoming part of his childhood faith. That is a great gift for any child.
There is a proverb that states: “Raise up a child in the way to go, and when they are old they will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6. There is a lot of truth to that. This Sunday, the Second Sunday of Advent we will hear the exultant song of John the Baptist’s father at the birth of his son.
Zechariah’s words convey the assurance that his new born would be raised knowing “in the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
And by the Fourth Sunday of Advent we will hear Mary’s song, the “Magnificat” that will also give blessed assurance that her new born, Jesus, “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” And so I always encourage and pray for families to remember the greatest gift they can give, faith! “Raise up a child in the way to go;” tell them of the “tender compassion of our God;” make your home a sacred shelter to nurture faith so that they also may grow and become strong filled with wisdom and in the favor of God.
They will thank God for you. Yes they will. Blessed Advent to you all.
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month our contributor is Reverend Mark Ditmanson of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Grand Marais.
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