Thursday, October 10, 2024

Learning with the Kids

 Last night I helped out with the kids’ service at church, as I’ve been doing this fall, and we learned some good stuff in that hour we were together. I really am just an overgrown child, myself, so learning via object lessons and experiments is really my happiest place.

            Last night we did an experiment that involved drinking glasses, water, raw eggs, and salt. What could go wrong with 3rd-5th graders in charge of those things, right? (There were, thankfully, no catastrophes.)

            Maybe, if you’ve been in kids’ ministry, you’ve done this one before, but it was new for me. We filled the glasses half full with warm water, dropped in an egg, and watched as it sank. Then we stirred in a little salt. Nothing happened. We stirred in a little more salt, and the egg rose to the top.

            While we worked on our experiment, the teacher likened the egg to the heavy weights that sink our hearts and spirits. The salt represented our prayers, which sometimes don’t seem to change much initially, but after a time, we find the Lord lifting the weight of our souls.

            It might not be a perfect analogy, but it was a timely one for me yesterday. A timely one for many of us (for varying reasons) I’m sure. So tempting to stop praying when we don’t see answers. So easy to let our hearts sink. But when we stir up our hearts in prayer, we find them lifting. Did you need that reminder? I did.

            Don’t give up, friends! (And don’t miss the value of learning alongside some elementary students. They get the most fun lessons!

1 comment:

Tamar SB said...

Sounds like a great visual for the kiddos!