Once upon a time, a scared ten-year-old girl rode a church bus to attend a Sunday School class at a church she’d never visited all because a stranger knocked on her door and invited her the week before. Her mother didn’t want her to go at first, she was against “organized religion” but the little girl didn’t give up and finally her mother allowed her to visit but just once–as long as she took her little sister.
Wearing thrift store dresses and scuffed shoes the girls went to Sunday School for the first time in their lives. Scared to be separated, the teacher allowed the sisters to sit together for their first class. They held hands under the table as the teacher and her helper told a story about a man who went fishing and caught a fish with money in its mouth. When the story was over, they sang songs, clapped their hands as they paraded around the room and then ate vanilla cookies and drank fruit punch. They went home with pictures of a colored fish with a plastic coin glued in his mouth. And little bibles, pink bibles with gold letters on them.
The next week, the sisters put on those same thrift store clothes, took their pink bibles and went back to Sunday School. Mom didn’t say no because they’d behaved so well all week, she said. When they arrived they heard more fantastic stories about a man named Jesus who had a “heart so big it broke for the whole world.” The little girls couldn’t imagine having a heart that big but they liked hearing about him. Each week, they eagerly went home to tell their Mom and school friends about what they heard. This went on for months until the girls had to move, leaving behind the church, the bus and the Sunday School teacher they loved so much.
The sisters weren’t allowed to visit church in the new place. There were no buses to take them to church and their mother worked on church days. They didn’t know anyone who went to church and nobody knocked on their door.
But they never forgot what they’d heard. Even though they didn’t understand all the words in their little pink bibles, they knew the words in red were words spoken by the man who’s heart broke for the whole world.
- And that little girl was me. And that first bus trip was over forty years ago.
Thank you, bus drivers for carrying my little sister and I to church.
Thank you, outreach team for inviting us and visiting us more than once.
Thank you, Sunday School teacher for telling us about the fish and the man and all the other things you taught us.
Thank you, Sunday School helper for allowing me to help pass out cookies each week.
I may not remember your names but I will always remember your love.
Loved this!
That is such a beautiful and inspiring story! I have seen your name listed as the author of many great writings, so I know you are a woman of God. Thanks to God for those people who ministered to you and your sister. With your permission, I would like to print this out to give to the ladies that help me with kids’ Sunday School at my church. Our church is small. We had not had a nursery volunteer in over a year. Sometimes we have one in our elementary SS class, and sometimes we have 15. Several do not attend church regularly, so there are some behavior problems which discourage us sometimes. Thank you so much for reminding me why I do what I do…..to share Jesus with the precious kids who come and show them love.
This is encouraging and Amazing how God works! We bless God for the seed that was sown..it is indeed fruit that will last! Thank Aunt Mimi for sharing. I am going to read out this to our Children’s church volunteers.
God bless you
Thank you for this dear, encouraging story and thank you for ministering that love forward so faithfully ??????????
It’s amazing how everything worked for the good of them that loved the Lord. See where you are today with that Man whose heart broke for the whole world.Hallelujah!!
I had to forward it to my church’s children Unit on the social media ASAP.
I am so blessed by this
Very inspiring. Thank you.
Mimi–Thank you for sharing your story, it touched my heart. I am thankful for those that poured into you and that you now desire to pour into others. May the Lord give you strength on the challenging days, fill you with a deep joy on the days He shows you fruit, and a loving heart as big as His for the precious children and families!
Amazing-that gives us all hope for the many that pass thru our SS classes-thankyou.