For the past year, once a month Tabitha and I would help out with the Children’s ministry at church by being teachers for one of the kids group.

It started out fun and aloof, we’d be there to entertain the kids and babysit them, sing with them, feed them too much sugar, tell them a Bible story.

But then it got serious.

How?

First, we started praying for the kids. Praying started out casual, at first it’d be something like, “Dear God, I hope the kids memorize their Bible verses this week,” or “I pray that they would listen and be so hyper.” But then prayer does a weird thing, because the more you pray, the more you start to care. So it became less about the their behavior and slowly became more about their families, loving God, and soon, about preserving the kids in the church as they grow up. How did that happen! They went from being once a month type serving to something I think about almost everyday, it’s like they slowly buried themselves in my brain and heart.

Second, I realized it is more than just babysitting and that my attitude towards it was all wrong. If I just look at it as just babysitting, it doesn’t really help anyone at all. Shirley pointed out to us that this is more than just babysitting, but it’s a type of attitude and mentorship that we’re providing for the kids. And it’s true because these kids really do look up to us. It’s scary sometimes, realizing that when they grow up, they might either look back at my time with them as an agonizing memory or something that really helped them love the Lord more. In a way, we’re serving as an example of someone who loves God and what it is to serve God.

Also, parents care a lot about who is influencing their children. They  are the ones who appreciate your serving more than the children because they understand and worry about the type influences that their children are surrounded by. So in the end, you’re also helping out their family.

Third, it is more than just a Bible story. A story is just a story, you can tell them about Jesus healing a blind man and whether they take something away from it is up in the air. After a while I realized that Jesus is not just a story, he’s a friend and someone I would want these kids to be friends with as well.

Moral: There is no such thing as serving lightly. If you’re serving God, you’re either all in or all out.

Also, I’m very, very, very thankful I am serving with Tabitha! She’s taught me a lot about patience and I learn a lot just by observing her interactions with them. If I weren’t serving with Tabitha, I would have quit a long time ago. It also helps that Tabitha and I care about this because we’re able to pray about it together and have the same burden.