Lessons From A Three Year Old

This is my dear friend Belinda. Oh, how I wish I could stick her in my suitcase, but I was told children were not luggage (even if I had good reason). She is so sassy, and filled with all kinds of energy. She loves cowboy boots and headbands. We go together like like tacos and Tuesdays!
Belinda attends the children's church program I have taught in Boise. I get the pleasure of loving her once a week, and teaching her about Jesus. As much as I have tried pouring Christ into her, I doubt she will ever know how much more she actually taught me!
God used this sweet babe of mine on several occasions to teach me.

Funny faces are always acceptable!

I remember shortly after my first delay in departure, I threw a royal fit before my Heavenly Father!  Oh, I yelled at Him! I just couldn't understand how I could pour my heart and soul into fundraising, just to miss my deadline. At church one evening, we sang a song that said, "I don't mind waiting on You, Lord" but I was so upset I could not bring myself to sing those words! "You better believe I mind waiting!!!" I prayed instead, as I whisked the kids upstairs for class. Sweet Belinda found her way to my lap, like most weeks, for the lesson. We then break off into smaller groups according to age. That week, I took the littles to do their activity, and then play. Plenty of chairs sat around two tables. Little Miss SassyPants Junior (Belinda) decided every single chair needed to cram around one small table. I put the chairs back, knowing that 15 kids under the age 7 at one table was a brawl waiting to happen. We both stood determined to have our way. Finally, Belinda began throwing a screaming, stomping, crying temper tantrum! I moved her away from the other kids, and let her scream for a moment, as I helped the other kids get their activity going. When I returned to her, she wrapped herself so tightly around my neck I thought she would never let go! She continued to cry, and I sat there and let her do so. As she cried, God spoke. "Oh Mary," He gently whispered to my heart, "don't you see, this is exactly what you are doing! Just like Belinda, you are determined to have your own way. And just like you, I see the bigger picture. I see why I have delayed you. Everything is in My timing. Sure, scream and be upset, but don't forget I know the end of this story!" ... Leave it to me to be compared to a three year old!

Other than not paying attention at prayers, I don't know what is happening here

Belinda always came with another family. But one particular Friday night, she came with her mom. Friday night is a time of prayer for my church, and I take the opportunity to "be a part of the crowd" and let God speak to me, as I usually am with the kids during the church service. But my Belinda sat right next to me with her mom and baby brother. Belinda sat so calmly and respectfully, until I invited her to sit on my lap! She played with my hands, hair, Bible, and anything else she could get her hands on! I loved and squeezed her, knowing soon I would leave her, as I traveled to Uganda. At the end of our service, her mom says, "Thank you for playing with her! She always wants play with me like that, and it was nice for a break,"
"Oh my pleasure," I grabbed Mama Belinda's hand, in hopes it would express my love for her daughter, "I am a teacher here for the kids, and I love spending time with your daughter!" After that, we too were joined at the heart for life! She came to our church service the next day, and gave me the biggest smile and wave from across the sanctuary. She also decided to dedicate her children to the Lord that evening. That was when I learned Belinda's heart for ministry had already begun. Like I mentioned, Belinda always came with another family. But Belinda didn't think that was good enough! She would tell her mom, "You need to come to church with me, and learn about Jesus!" And through her dedication and persistence, her mom came to church! This girl is a missionary at age three! I want to be more like Belinda.

If you look close enough, you can see Belinda raising her hands in prayer with everyone else!

This Friday night, Mama Belinda came up to me with Belinda. She then helps Belinda go through her pockets, saying, "Belinda, remember you have a gift for Mary! Let's get it!" Belinda then gets the biggest grin on her face, and hands me some money. I then give her a big hug. Mama Belinda then shares this story with me, "When they said you were leaving last week, I told Belinda we needed to give you a gift! I asked her what she wanted to give you, and she said $100!" We both laugh, and hug! My time with this new friend was far too short. I held onto the cash she gave me, thinking, "surely, this is not $100," but waited until I was home to see. Sure enough, it was $100! So selflessly, Mama Belinda honored her daughter's gift suggestion. This gift means more to me than any other gift I have received in my life. Here, I learned a lesson of generosity. Belinda is young, and she may not know the magnitude of $100, but that was the gift of her choosing. Her mom, knowing the magnitude of $100, chose to honor her daughter's wish. I have known Mama Belinda for a month. If roles were reversed, and I had a child who wanted to give her $100, I would so easily say, "How about $20 and some cookies" (because cookies are always a good idea). Mama Belinda clearly has the more generous heart, and I can learn from her. And from sweet Belinda, she had such joy in giving. She may not have understood the size of her gift (maybe she does... I didn't get the chance to talk to her about it), but she expressed the joy in giving. So easily, we lose that joy when we give because we are focusing on our own needs. "Ah, I know it is good that I give this, but I have bills to pay, groceries to buy, cars to fix..." the list goes on. We allow our needs to steal our joy! I think every American (and others) could take a lesson from Belinda in the joy of giving!

Belinda = my fellow cow mama!!

When we jump into ministry, we have others in mind. We want to help them. We want to teach them about Jesus, and walk alongside them as they explore His love -- and when we do it correctly, we witness lives changed by the gospel! We don't start in ministry with the mindset, "Oh man! These people are going to teach me so much about loving Jesus! I am going to come out of this such a better Christian." We pour our hearts and souls into a ministry, and before we even know it, God is using our work to teach us! And isn't that just how our Jesus works?
When you work with kids, you find yourself naturally connecting to certain children. That is me and Belinda -- we bonded in an instant, and became friends for life (I have her future husband picked out, and everything). Our time together grew both of us in faith, and I could never ask for anything more!

*A small disclaimer -- I love and adore all the kids that are in the children's program (read my last blog for more on that). I just HAD to share what this girl has taught me over the past year or so.

A small glimpse of  my commissioning service -- the kids all came and surrounded me, and prayed over me. Best part of the whole service!! ... notice who is right in front of me?