I love children!! I love the energy they have. I love the curiosity they have. I love the big hearts that they often display. I love the fun nature and imagination that often fills their minds and daily lives. I love their honesty and the directness that they can often speak with. There is a note in my office that I have laminated and keep quite visible. It was given to me a few years ago by a child in our congregation and it reflects the directness of a child. The note says, “God loves you no matter what. PS, so you are loved!” I love that note. I read it often, especially on the difficult days of ministry! Yes, God loves me no matter what…So I am loved! And so are you!! AMEN!!
Well, another note has recently been given to me that just might get laminated. The background story is that part of this year’s Vacation Bible School, Becky had different prayer or activity stations set up around the Gathering Area and the office area. One of the stations was by my office door. Children and parents were invited to leave me a note or a word of thanks. (Becky, that was so kind of you…and kids and parents, your words of thanks and encouragement were all so great.)
One note in particular caught my attention and made me laugh…but it also made me pause. In a child’s handwriting the note simply said, “Thank you for not being a sea monster.” Now, it is hard to know for sure what is going through a child’s mind when they write something like that, but I take it to mean, “Thanks for not being a scary person.”
One of my brief but clear memories from my childhood is that of standing at the back of the little country church our family attended, and looking up at this tall, tall person wearing a long black robe. My impression was that he was really old, though he was probably around my age now. I believe his name was Rev. Pray. He was the pastor of our little country church. This isn’t a scary or fear-filled memory, but I remember feeling so awed and that he wasn’t particularly approachable for someone like me, a child, a little boy. It’s not that he did or said anything to scare me, it’s just the impression I had in that moment.
This memory has impacted my ministry in that I have always wanted children to sense that I was approachable and that I wasn’t some big scary creature…like a sea monster. I remember as a child that whenever there was a nighttime thunderstorm, I dreamed about dinosaurs stomping around outside our house wanting to step on me. I’m sure that’s how my little brain made sense of the scariness of big thunder. It did frighten me! Who knows, maybe this child had recently heard a story about some big scary sea monster that was still on his mind. I’m just glad to know he doesn’t think of me as a sea monster.
So, why do I stay involved in doing the Children’s Moment during worship? Why do I bend down when offering a child the elements of communion? Why do I often squat down or get down on a knee when talking to a little child? Why do I sometimes slip into the Sunday School rooms during the Sunday School hour, just to say “Hi” to the children and teachers? Why have I been known to dress up in silly costumes for VBS or some other children’s program? Why have I been known to get on a dunk tank? It’s because I want children, and adults too, to know that I am not a sea monster. I don’t want to be that scary person in a child’s life that they feel they can’t approach or ask a question of, no matter what that question might be. Not being a sea monster…for me, I’ll take that as a win!! To the child that wrote that note…Thank you for making me smile. And thank you for letting me be your friend and your pastor.
Pastor Keith