A note from Kristen Graham, St. Michael’s Director of Religious Education, on today’s Play, Learn, and Fellowship:
We had another great morning at Play, Learn, and Fellowship today after Mass! We SO enjoyed spending time with the three other families that joined us. All families with children are welcome the 1st Sunday after Mass to join us for singing, a short lesson, craft and playing. Even though you can leave at any time, 11:30 tends to be the latest everyone stays.
Today we talked about Father Abraham. We sang the song, I told the story about God asking Abraham to leave his home and God’s promise to give him a child, descendants as many as the stars, and that Abraham’s nation would be blessed (all promises God fulfilled in time), and made a small craft reminding kids that God keeps his promises.
Here’s something I wanted to add for all the parents out there: in Genesis 15:1, God tells Abraham:
“Fear not, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great.”
After this Abraham expresses frustration that he STILL has no offspring and God again reminds him of His promise to Abraham. This, of course, would be very relevant to a couple waiting for a child (or God to give them the opportunity to expand their family in other ways). But as a parent with little ones, this scripture and today’s responsorial Psalm hit me hard: “Do not be afraid,” and “If today you hear His voice, harden not your heart.”
How easy it is for me, when I am giving so much to my little ones, to feel weary like Abraham. If God calls us, are our hearts hardened because we are tired and we feel “maxed out”? If we can remember, “Do not be afraid, I am your shield, I will make your reward very great” maybe we can remember God’s plan is better than ours and his reward is so much greater than what we can imagine… it just may take time and obedience for us to see what he has in store for our families.
