Learning from the Littles

Well, I'm a little behind on my blogging, but allow me here at the tail end of July to take you back to the end of June, where Romper and I went to Orient UMC.

These helpers are awesome. They are super organized and had fun decorating. Brown paper turned into rocks and streamers turned into waterfalls.

One of the extra fun things for me here is that I used to teach in this town, so I get to see some former students- they keep growing up fast, though, so most of them were "too old" for VBS. Personally, I think you're never too old for VBS, but some of them have graduated high school and all, so I guess I can see that.

The kids we did have in abundance were littles. Little littles.

If you've done VBS, or if you have worked with children, or if you have seen children, you will recognize that little little children really change how you have to do things. The difference between a preschooler and a kindergartner is pretty substantial.

Yet Jesus says, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Mark 19:14)

Not just children, but specifically little children.
Hm.
What can we learn from little children?


-The world is exciting and awesome and there's always something new to learn. Toilet paper tube binoculars really work. It's all in how you look at things.

-Sometimes you just need a little attention. During science in the afternoon, one little little was crying, wailing, really, for no reason we could see and with no signs of self-soothing. I took her to go get a drink. As soon as she grabbed my hand, she was quiet. She came back and sat on my lap throughout science. Sometimes we all just need someone to notice us.

-Naps matter. One especially little friend went home for nap time and came back refreshed. God rested. Why don't adults think they need to?

-You can be at peace no matter what's going on around you. Our all-day format left some of the little ones tired by the end of the day (those who didn't go home for naps. See point 3.) So, one little girl created her own nap time in her pew. We did the puppet show. She slept. We sang songs. She slept. We left for our next rotation, leaving a helper beside her so she wouldn't freak out if she woke up alone. She slept. We came back and practiced for the program. She slept. How you can sleep through all this noise is beyond me, but she did. When the world is crazy around us, how many of us have that kind of trusting peace?