You should know by now that in Bible Club we are going straight thru the Bible, learning the "stories" of Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Noah, etc. But what I love about our lessons is that those stories are just the backdrop to the most amazing story of God's never ending love for us and his plan to save man from their sin since the very beginning.
You should also know that I am taking 4 neighbor kids with us every week and I have just recently started bringing them to Sunday School.
What you don't know is the background of these kids. They all have pretty rough lives compared to us. There are sister who live with their grandparents because their parents are not fit to raise them. The other girl has 2 younger sisters and they all have different dads. One of them doesn't even know who her dad is. Their mom has been in jail recently. I'm sure their are lots of different men in their lives and drugs.
The boy, I think his life is pretty normal. There are no drugs in the house, that I know of. Tonight he asked if he could eat dinner with us after we got home. I told him we already ate, he said he hadn't eaten anything. They are all always hungry when I see them.
So tonight we were very deep into the fact that God had to destroy everyone because of their wickedness. They understood that no one but Noah and his family loved God and wanted to obey Him. One of the sisters started crying because she misses her dad. He lied to their mamaw so she wasn't letting him sleep there tonight. Awhile later one of the other girls started crying because she misses her dad and won't get to see him until this summer. I really didn't know what to say to these kids. They crave attention and love. I just explained to them that people on earth will let us down. Not everyone loves us or will always be there for us but that there is one person who always will. They seemed to recover pretty quickly.
Tonight I realized that I am not only bringing all these kids with me because they spend a lot of time with my kids. I want to be the solid in these kids' lives. I want to show them the unconditional love of someone who will never leave them for drugs or anything. I want them to know that someone cares. I want them to remember these years when they are older and find themselves falling into the same situations their parents have fallen into.
It isn't easy. I never leave church on Wed nights feeling like I have just made a difference. My throat and head usually hurt. I am generally frustrated at their misbehaving. But getting to tell these kids every single week that God's plan from the beginning of time has been to save us from our sins, it makes everything worth it.
Amen! Keep on with your work - you never know how God is using it to change a life or lives, even when we don't feel like we've made a difference. Wednesday nights are always hard for Philip & me too, but we know that the results are in God's hands and that what we're doing DOES matter.
ReplyDeleteWe need more concerned Christians like you, Liz!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm cheering you on! (That means praying for you and figuratively running along the sidelines beside you yelling "Don't quit!" when you feel like giving up.)
I've got "children" in TN that we took to church when they were small and we are still in contact. While the situation wasn't one of drugs or abuse or desertion it was one of a family needing a helping hand and a friendly neighbor. The daddy later trusted Christ. :)