Training little ones

Truly I say unto you, unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Whoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. And whosoever receives a child in my name receives me. But whoever offends one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

~Matthew 18:3-6

Earlier tonight, I took Ben for a walk in the neighborhood while Eric and Kaela played in the yard. As I walked around the bend, a friend of mine was pulling into her garage with her children, so I stopped to chat and help. She's a teacher, too, who's staying at home with her 4 children, and just an amazing Christian mommy and friend to me.

So she was taking her things into the house, and her 12-year old daughter walked up with a basketball under her arm, and just directly asked me, "Ms. Amy, how come at school I have teachers who are Christians who talk about church, but then they teach things in science that the Bible says aren't true? How do teachers do that? I have a teacher I know is a Christian, but what she says just isn't what we believe." By that time, my friend had come back out to the driveway, and she's like, "Go ahead, Amy. You field this one." We ended up tag-teaming, my friend and I, describing how the state tells us what to teach, and how sometimes in higher grades it conflicts with what we believe. It sounded so lame, spoken that way. We talked about as Mommies how we have to guard our children's minds; as teachers, how we must stick to our convictions, and how when we pray we are doing battle on our children's behalf, for this reason.

It's bugging me. It's something that I don't think about that often, but Satan is so deceptive, and doesn't spare the young. He knows that if he can get her to doubt at 12, it won't be as hard when she's 30. I wish I had told her this part, too: When she asked me her question, I had been walking and praying so fervently for God to work in this one situation in my family. Just to come in, sit down, and do business. I was praying, "God, we need YOU. Not more knowledge of you, not more songs about you, but your supernatural working in our family." And as I'm thinking now of how we (I) responded to this little girl, I wish I had said--"Honey, when you've got nowhere else to go, and you find yourself in the inevitable valleys that come in this life, do not be deceived and think that you'll be the slightest bit interested in what Charles Darwin thought, or what Freud would say. When the rubber meets the road, it's Jesus you'll want, and you'll be wise--because he's the ONLY one who makes things new, heals the broken, makes the blind see. And THAT's why the devil wants to cast doubt on the authority of his Word." I WISH I had said that! I'm praying for another chance!

Friday on my day off, I'm going to this Moms of Faith group (with this little girl's mom) at the local church here. We're going to pray for our children, teachers, and public schools. I know God hasn't abandoned them. There are too many signs of life; too many Christians in my own building, and in my own neighborhood. I'm gonna be praying for this little girl, and for my own little ones. I'm going to pray for the right words to say when kids (my own, my students, my friends) ask me the hard questions. And I'm going to pray again, "Lord, come in and sit down. Do business. Give us a hunger for you...just more of you. And please, please don't let me say anything that would discourage these little ones who just want (need!) to believe on you."