I love working in children’s ministry. God has blessed me with the opportunity to tell young children about Him. That is one the greatest blessings He has ever bestowed on me. Leading a small group of children is one of my favorite things to do in children’s ministry. I love to talk to, interact with, disciple and to dig into the Word of God with them. I love to build relationships with them, and I believe that God has gifted me in this area. I have been privileged to experience many joyous and significant moments through my work with children. However, there have also been moments which have broken my heart and sent me to my knees in prayer.
I will never forget one particular Sunday afternoon when I was leading a group of kindergarteners and first graders. We had worked through all of the small group activities for that particular weekend, and I was taking advantage of the extra time to get them know them all a little bit better. We were talking about the usual suspects – pets, siblings, school, friends, etc. I was asking some questions to try to get them talking, and we started talking about what each of them had done that weekend. I asked the typical questions. Had they done anything fun? Did they spend the day with their Mom and Dad? Did they play with their pets?
As we went around the table, each child shared how they had spent their weekend thus far. Then, I it came time for one little girl to share what she had done that weekend:
We spent yesterday packing up the house in boxes.
Being just a little naïve, and not realizing what was coming next, I pressed a little harder,
Oh, are you moving? Where are you moving to? We’re going to miss you if you move far away.