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From
the August, 2006 edition of The Chapel newsletter
by
Jeff Walker
Some time
ago I was in the First Steps Nursery, down by the mailboxes,
watching the little ones play. That room has a one-way mirror,
where the parents can step into the hallway behind the mirror
and check on their babies without the children seeing them and
crying for them.
As I was in the nursery room, I noticed how well the one-way
mirror worked. Actually, what I noticed was that I could see the
nursery’s welcome desk across the hallway, behind the mirror, if
I concentrated hard enough. Light reflects from a one-way
mirror, but some also passes through the mirror. To produce the
“one-way” effect, the mirror is used to divide two rooms; one
room is kept dark while the other room is brightly lit. People
in the brightly lit room see a mirror, since the image of the
bright surroundings is reflected by the mirror. People in
the darkened room don’t see their reflections, instead they see
through the mirror, and can watch the people in the brightly lit
room. I could see through the mirror in the nursery because the
hall light behind the mirror was on. Had the hall light not been
on, I would not have been able to see anything but my own
reflection in the mirror.
It ’s so easy, today, to get caught up in activities and
technology. We’re busy running here or there for a meeting any
hour of the day or night; we’re busy taking one child to either
a practice or a game, for this league or that. Another child has
piano lessons here, and tennis lessons there. Then there are
school functions like concerts, parent-teacher conferences and
so on. Don’t forget to exercise. What about your hobbies? And,
of course, there are those home improvement projects that always
take ten times longer than expected.
I was in the nursery again, recently, helping take care of the
little ones. It was the first time I worked in there for a whole
service. I am usually running sound or helping with the older
kids in Children’s Ministries. How ever, this time, I was
filling in for someone, so I donned the standard nursery smock
and asked where I could help. I didn’t know what to expect - I
had my ideas - but truly didn’t know how “bad” it
was going to be. There could have been incessant crying, upset
tummies, temper tantrums - who knows?
As you might guess, my experience was not at all what it “could
have been”. I was truly and deeply blessed to have shared an
extremely small portion of those little children’s lives. Yes,
there was some crying, and a rumor of an upset tummy. And yes,
diapers had to be changed, but what I remember most is the
beaming smiles and bright, shining eyes of those beautiful
creations.
But, beyond meeting the children’s needs for interaction, snack
and occasional diaper change, I am thankful for being able to
help their parents hear God’s word. You see, when you step out
in faith, blessings are multiplied! Helping out in Children’s
Ministries blesses the Pastors – to preach uninterrupted, the
parents – listen and meditate on God’s word, the CM coordinators
– to fulfill their mission to do everything with excellence, and
the other volunteers – to share the load. There are other
blessings to be experienced throughout our church body, but
there are infinitely more to experience outside the walls of our
church.
It ’s hard to see others - to see their needs - when we’re busy
with the daily distractions of life. It takes effort,
concentration, desire. We have to want to see what’s beyond our
own reflection in the mirror of life. The light often seems to
shine so bright on ourselves. It seems so dim where others’
needs are.
Please take a moment today, tomorrow , this week - sometime - in
prayer and meditation, focusing on how you might be able to meet
the needs of someone in your family, community, church - beyond
your walls.
In Christ,
Jeff Walker
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