by Brenda Seat
Teaching Sunday School is always both a challenge and gift. I usually have totally unrealistic expectations about what I will accomplish and the content that I am going to impart to the kids. What I have come to realize is that I need to hold those expectations lightly so that I can be present for those brief shining moments when I learn something from the kids.
Earlier this month I was with T and O. These two love playing with cars and in the Sunday school room we have a rug that has roads and mountains and beaches that they love to drive their cars and trucks around. So after our opening ritual we got out the rug and I showed them some new match box cars and trucks that I bought for them to play with. Of course, out of all the six new cars and trucks there was one truck, the trash truck, that they both wanted to play with. Soon they were arguing about who would get to play with it and so I reminded them our rule – if they couldn’t share, then I would have to take the truck away and then no one would get to play with it. There was a bit of silence as they considered what to do next, then T said, " O, could you let me have it for just one minute so I can look at it and then I will give it back to you?" O considered this offer for a moment and then carefully held out the truck and gave it to T. T took the truck and looked it over, ran it over the highway on the rug, just to see how it worked, and then gave it back to O and said, "Thanks, Buddy!" And they began to play together again.
For one brief shining moment I think I caught a glimpse of what Jesus was trying to tell the rich young ruler in our Gospel lesson for that week… (Mark 10:17-31)
