Little Teachers

"Miss Kristin, can I get a drink of water?"
"Miss Kristin, can I get a drink of water?"
"Miss Kristin, can I get a drink of water?"
"Miss Kristin, can I get a drink of water?"
"Miss Kristin, can I get a drink of water?"

Allow me to interject some personal thoughts here. Normally, my posts have everything to do with what the kids are learning and nothing to do with what I'm learning. So here you go. This was my lesson on Sunday during Kids Church. 'My lesson' as in not what I taught, but rather what I learned.

The previous 5 questions actually happened about 8 times in 15 minutes. I counted. And it was the same question. 8 times. In 15 minutes. That's the same question every 1.875 minutes. If you're a mom, you're probably thinking, "Kristin, you have no idea." And you're right. I don't. So here I was, in the middle of singing and worshiping with the kids, being asked the same question over and over again by two children. "Miss Kristin, can I get a drink of water?" We have a little rule, that once we've started worship, all requests to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water are on hold until worship is over. Yet here I was, being asked for the 8th time. Even after I had said (7 times), "Not right now. We need to wait until worship is over. Then you can get some water." I was getting frustrated that I was being pulled out of being able to worship with the kids. Oh, how I longed to help the kids understand what worship really is. These are all thoughts that were running through my head.

Little did I know what was in store for me.

You know, I was actually pretty proud of myself though. It was one of those days where I felt more patient than usual. I was only slightly irritated. But I was still able to attempt a smile, get down on their level, and prepare to say in a patient tone what I had already said 7 times. I was getting pretty good at this patience thing actually. As I began with the few sentences that were getting rather old, "Not right now. We need to wai......."

......a thought hit me. I knew it was the Lord.

It went something like, "Kristin, you do this to Me all the time. Yet, I never am impatient with you."

Ouch.

OUCH.

I looked down at the little girl and another thought hit me. Yet again from the Lord. "Present your body as a living sacrifice. This is your spiritual act of worship."

Worship. Oh geez.

Maybe I was the one that needed some teaching on what true worship really is. In that moment, I caught a glimpse of the infinite patience of God. All of God's attributes are infinite. All of them. Infinite. Without end. Meaning, He NEVER gets impatient with me. The term 'long-suffering' is actually not that accurate. It makes it sound like God 'suffers' long with us. But He doesn't 'suffer' at all. It's nothing for Him to say things over and over and over and over again. Or listen to us over and over and over and over again. Or offer His love, only to be rejected, over and over and over and over again.  He's infinitely patient. And He asks me to be like Him. Especially to these kids.

In that moment, I realized how much I have still to learn. About patience. Worship. Humility. I'm so thankful for "little teachers". They help me remember that God loves me even in my weakness. He's not put off by it, but rather, He pours His strength into my weakness so that He alone receives all of the glory.

"It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..." Galatians 2:20