One of the ways that God chooses to speak to us is through Scripture. Re-read the passage from Deuteronomy. What word or phrase stands out for you? What do you think God is challenging you to do with that phrase?Taking care of first-through third-grade children can really make me tired! My church is called Saint Mercurious and Saint Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church. Each year our church organizes a “Summer Camp” where kids of all ages can have fun, go on trips, and have times of prayer. Once you’re a certain age, you can choose to become a junior chaperone—which is what I did last summer.
A junior chaperone is expected to take care of and bond with the group assigned to him or her. The group I was given had passed through several junior chaperones. They weren’t cooperative, and they didn’t want to listen to anyone. In fact, these young children thought of themselves as everyone else’s boss. They looked innocent, but when it came to communicating with them, they didn’t act that way. No chaperone wanted to deal with such a rambunctious group, and they were given to me.
Halfway through the summer, I was halfway through the hope that they would change. Some junior chaperones told me just to give up and pass them on to someone else. That’s when it hit me. These kids weren’t close to God; they weren’t experiencing God’s love during camp. Each day we had a thirty-minute lesson which usually was an open discussion. One day I chose to read and discuss Deuteronomy 6: 4–9:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
I chose this citation because it relates to obedience. I really felt God helping me while we were discussing this; God was with me. The kids seemed . . . obedient. I believe that God gave me the ability to talk with them. I had them memorize, “Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.” After this lesson, I heard them repeating this verse and then listening to the other chaperones. They were acting as innocent as their faces looked.
I was thanked a lot. I couldn’t help but think that they should have been thanking God instead. God gave me the strength, patience, and intuition to help my group of kids. He worked through me, and I’m glad that he did. I could have given up, but I didn’t, and God was with me. I look back at this experience and say Noshkar Rabena, “Thank you, God” in Arabic.
—Kathryn
One of the ways that God chooses to speak to us is through Scripture. Re-read the passage from Deuteronomy. What word or phrase stands out for you? What do you think God is challenging you to do with that phrase?
In this story, the young children had trouble being obedient. The author was being asked for her own obedience to the call to serve the kids. When have you had trouble sticking to something that was hard to do? What made it possible for you to follow through?