God is so good. This week we were really stumped as to how to teach the kids Sunday's lesson. We've emphasized to them time and again the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus and how vital it is to their lives. We really wanted to focus on hearing God's voice this week. Missionary, Luther Meier gave us a great visual to end with on Sunday when he spoke of the five or so crossroads we come to as Christians and how it is then we have choices to make. We can choose the paths we feel secure with and comfortable with....paths towards family, friends, the American dream, our careers. Or we can choose the unmarked path that we may not feel so secure with taking at first because we don't know where it will lead us. The only thing we know for sure about that path is that God will be on it with us, making it the only sure and clear path we should choose.
Well that sounded good, but how do you teach that truth to 10-12 year-olds in a way that they can grasp and understand? We prayed about it Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Then just last night God gave us the idea. Letterboxing! Letterboxing is a fun, free, family friendly hobby. Each family member has a different rubber stamp and notebook. You print one of the hundreds of letterbox clues from the letterboxing website and the search is on. The clues are sometimes very evasive, full of riddles, and usually require a good sense of direction and a compass. But once you find where the box is hidden, you open it to reveal the box owner's own unique stamp, inkpad, and notebook. You then put the date and their stamp inside your notebook to record its find and you also leave each of your stamp's imprints and the date in theirs. It's like treasure hunting, only you re-hide the treasure for others to find again and again!
So we decided to take the kids to a letterbox we'd found as a family in the past. It's at Woodmont Clubhouse in Temple Terrace. The kids had no idea where we were going, it was getting dark and a little creepy in the park at night, and we had nothing but a set of clues to go by as we searched for something they had no idea or certainty even existed. We followed landmarks, counted steps, used our compass, searched for sign posts, and deciphered the clues one by one. The end result? We found the letterbox! Since the kids didn't have notebooks, we stamped their hands instead to mark their success.
Then we discussed how following God and listening for His voice can sometimes be just as uncertain as searching for that box was. They may not know where they're going or what's going to be at the end of their journey. They may not have the best of clues as to how to get there. But if they stay the course and follow the path God has them on step by step, they will be rewarded for their obedience and faithfulness in the end. We also talked about how there will be times when they will stumble and fall and even wander from the path, but that God will always be there to lead them back towards His will when they seek Him.
We talked about some Biblical examples of these truths. Abraham was called to leave his home and security in obedience to the Lord and just walk with no clear destination, knowing only that he was being led by God. Later he walked another road on his way to sacrifice his only son Isaac in obedience to the Lord's command. Noah, who had never seen rain before and had no idea what a boat was, followed God down a 120-year path of obedience and following clear directions and instructions that would ultimately save his family and two of every living creature God had created. Joseph, being sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers, trusted the course God had him on and simply and humbly obeyed Him down every path God led him on, even one to prison! And were any of these men perfect, sinless? No! They were sinners who made mistakes and disobeyed at times in their lives just like we do.
It turned out to be a great lesson and hopefully one the kids will not soon forget....us adults either! God is so good. Did I mention that when we first walked up to the park we were faced with a crossroads of about 4 sidewalks.....fit right in with what Luther taught us. Only God could have given us this lesson.
