One Sunday evening, I noticed a broken crayon on the floor against a leg of the Lord's Supper table. It looked black. When I picked it up I saw that it was blue; but I saw more than that. "Broken crayon" was a generous way to describe it. The fragment of what used to be a whole crayon had a long and useful life. Broken at both ends and well-worn, only the smallest of fingers would be able to use it for coloring anymore. What was left of the paper around it showed evidence of being jumbled up in a box of other crayons for quite some time. I suppose it had been a Sunday School crayon. At first glance, a piece of colored wax on the floor could look like a hazard. Someone's heel could grind it into the carpet and cause a mess. My first thought was just to pick it up and throw it away. A moment of reflection, though, caused me to see the bit of crayon differently. It wasn't a piece of trash, but a sign of life.
Sometimes children at church can cause problems. They may squirm too much, giggle, or just make noise during a service. Before a service, they may race into the auditorium on little legs that are moving too quickly. Here and there through the years I have heard complaints about children's behavior, and many of those complaints have been valid. Children can disrupt adult meetings, or cause a mess, or whatever; but all people can cause problems. Given a choice, I would choose the problems that children can cause over the problems that adults can cause every time.
Children are an incredible blessing in a church family. The difference between a church with relatively few children and a church with plenty of children is immense. Twice I have watched churches change from having few children to having a healthy number of children coming with their families. In both cases, the change has been gradual but profound. The difference between a typical Sunday with few children compared to a typical Sunday with plenty of children is like the difference between death and life.
A few weeks ago, I was busy with our food box ministry. The truck had delivered 5,000 pounds of food, and we were unloading and sorting it. Almost no one was talking, everyone was busy, and I heard an exclamation from across the floor, "HEY MISSA WODIN!" (translation: Hey Mister Roland!) The little tyke had seen me through all of the activity, and the greeting warmed my heart. Children have a way of doing that.
I have been fascinated by babies in a ladies Sunday School class recently. A couple of mothers have been bringing tiny little ones to class, and they all have been taking turns holding them. Yes, we have a nursery, but this is something beyond child care. I keep hearing about the good lessons and discussions in this class too. The class has energy, and the mothers and the babies are a part of that. The women love it. It might not fit every class, but it fits them. If that is how they want to do Sunday School, I think it is great, and we could use even more of it!
Children are an essential part of life in a healthy church. Nothing will make a church seem dead like the absence of children. Nothing works like the presence of children to make the atmosphere feel alive. Children truly are a joy in a church family.
