A very special child

Recently I held the body of a baby who had gone to be with God. So beautiful. So peaceful. 

She had died in God's time. In her whole life she had only known love, safety, comfort and peace. She had everything she needed. She had never known pain, and never will. She was known: by her parents, her siblings, and God.  

We had prayed for God's will to be done in her life, and the lives of her family. We had prayed for mercy, that she would suffer no pain in her life. 

What did I learn from this child?

God answers prayer in his time and in his way. 

God loves each child of his. 

Thank you to the parents of this child who allowed me to have this very special moment holding their baby, and also to share my reflections here.

What's with the donkey?

I recently told the story of the first Palm Sunday to a group of 8-10 year olds. There wasn't anything particularly amazing about the way I told the story. I used Mark 11:1-11, and I didn't add to the story. 

I was hoping to get them to see the contrast between Palm Sunday and what was to follow. Because I think I thought that was the point. I wondered with them: what could Jesus have done next? What were the people feeling? How did the disciples feel when the donkey was there, as promised, and the subsequent conversations happened as promised?

However, as the wondering went on, I discovered the kids were wondering:

* did the donkey get home?

* how did the donkey feel about being ridden for the first time by someone it didn't know?

* how did the donkey feel about all the people yelling? 

The point of connection for these kids was the donkey. This was the character they identified with most strongly. I did the story with three different groups. They all asked the same questions.

The following week, I brought the Jesus figure, the donkey, a cloak and a branch from the original story, and asked them to tell me a story. One girl in the first group told me the whole story, leaving nothing out, using almost exactly the wording I used. The next two groups needed a couple of people to contribute, but they got all the details. 

Clearly this story has more going on in it than I first thought. At my church this weekend, the sermon title (to go with Luke 19:29-38, the first palm Sunday) was advertised as 'available for the Lord to use'. I immediately thought of the donkey.

Is truth only available from one perspective? Is there only ever one point to a story? If I miss the point, but get a point, is that wrong? 

I wonder what the children are teaching me.