About Reaching

It was Mickie’s first time in her seventy something years to teach a Children’s message in front of the whole church. You would never have thought that by her regal character and dignity, her mastered eloquence and educational background, and the way that she dresses with class, that her insides were a jumbled mix of joy and worry and panic; butterflies on steroids. She had carefully prepared for this children’s message, wrapping shoeboxes and typing out her notes, her Bible opened and scripture ready, and like most good public speakers she had checked with others as to where the microphone needs to go and where she needed to sit and where her props needed to be. With her outward appearance in tact, her teaching moment well prepared, and her insides fluttering, she bumped into one of our deacons who offered a prayer for Mickie on the spot. Mickie’s hands were opened to be held, their heads bowed in a moment of peace and encouragement, as God worked on Mickie’s internal combustion preparing her for something wonderful.

I’m not sure how the Spirit reassured her into a moment of peaceful love. It may have been her grandmother’s heart as the children gathered at her feet. It may have been her husband beaming from the front row in love. It may have been the children asking questions and getting involved. At one splendid moment she took a big breath, and when she did she relaxed and grew comfortable with the children congregated. It was as if there came wisdom from a life filled with faith and understanding, allowing her mind to give into the love she felt in her heart for these children. At that precise moment, one of the children named Rosemary became a picturesque blessing for the congregation. Little Rosemary, sitting beneath the shadow of Mickie’s Bible, reached up with her tiny hand and touched the gold leafy pages with her fingers, running them ever so gently up and down, back and forth, unbeknownst to Mickie. Then she reached out and touched Mickie’s skirt, getting lost in a most comfortable place most children do when they gather round love. Mickie was smiling and teaching, and Rosemary was caught up in it all, both of them at peace with each other in worship.

Little Rosemary united everyone. Her heart full of peace and wonder, connecting with the big bible and the familiarity of friends and grandmothers, was a moment of clarity and joy; and for Rosemary it was worth exploring. In an instant God’s grace and gentleness, through these two children of God, ushered the church into a worshiping moment clarifying their own identity. I thought to myself, “This is who they are, this is what God’s Kingdom looks like, this is what they are all about.”

The celebration of children in worship is what Mickie’s smile and nervousness, and all of the other folk who brave a children’s message, captured for me. Rosemary’s stretched out hand, and all of the children who come forward for a children’s message, show us the kingdom of God from a child’s heart of discovery searching for truth.

As I pen this story I am filled with this understanding: all children’s messages illustrate their church’s purpose and proclaim who they are. What defined this church during their children’s moment? Was it the message of mission for homeless street teens in need of practical shoeboxes filled with socks and toiletries, or was it Mickie’s heart melting into the moment with these children? Was it the children listening to her, or was it the congregation being caught up in a moment of spiritual clarity of who they are: Children and elderly together learning God’s will. Was it Christ’s presence reminding them that as they search for Jesus he promises to find them in the Bible and in the faces and lives of the stranger (like those of the street teens, or guests who join them on Sunday)? Was it the Spirit binding them together? For me it will always be that beautiful hand reaching for the Bible as the teacher opened herself in love to those who came to hear.

Just a thought,

Pastor Tom