Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. Luke 18:17
For the past many years I’ve taught kindergarten in a school district whose mascot is the Thunderbird. One of my room moms coined the name Kinderbirds and it stuck. Over the years I’ve seen my fledglings pass through tragedy and triumph. There was a time when my little flock came together to see a classmate through the death of his father. (Search my blog for Painted Rocks to read the story in full.) After the appropriate time with family, our friend returned to the classroom, and as far as I could tell, we settled into a good, new normal. But, while I was expounding on the attributes of an upper case ‘M’ my heart broken chick chirped out, “Mrs. Rooney, I hear my dad’s voice all the time.” I just calmly said, “Okay.” He continued, “I hear him right now.” I innocently asked, “How does that make you feel?” His soft little voice replied, “It makes me want to be where he is.”
I knew I stood in a moment of profound truth. My precious little student didn’t ask that his father be returned to his side. His desire was to go into his father’s presence.
The silence was quickly broken by the lilt of a bright voice proclaiming, “It’s Heaven, he’s in Heaven!” and a quieter voice, through a tight throat said, “I know.”
There was no great debate of theology, no offense that something so personal or religious came up in a public school classroom, in fact, I had very little to do with what happened in a matter of seconds. But, I know the hearts of the children understand clearly what I so often battle: Complete and simple faith.
Don’t ever out grow the need to cry out to your loving and faithful Father.
Love,
Gretchen