I started teaching summer Sunday school today. Remembering fond days of yore when I was kid in the summer listening to The Railroad Children, I thought it would be fun to offer to read another book to the kids who are old enough to sit still and listen. So, pulling out new markers and coloring posters, I endeavored to get my wonderful little ruffians (seven children ages 7-11) under control so I could begin reading. My choice of book is a fat children's fantasy, The Tower of Geburah, by John White. I read it once to Klara and her siblings seven years ago, and I still like to pull out choice sections to read on Sabbaths when I want to think about my walk with Jesus. Yep, you guessed it--like the Chronicles of Narnia, it's an allegory! Maybe too similar to C.S. Lewis's masterpiece to be a coincidence, but that doesn't bother me. It's long been one of my favorite books since Craig read part of it to me when I was in Sunday school, and now I want the next generation to experience the same unknown joy.
So, after ignoring a certain impudent little boy's suggestion that he use my dress as his coloring poster, I began reading. And I found that I didn't have to work hard to make them pay attention. Weaving in what voices and dramatic inflections that I could, I read for nearly an hour with very little interruption. If the kids weren't coloring or getting a new poster, they were staring at me, spellbound. And when I showed them the picture of the giant yellow snake filling the dungeon and wrapped around the king, I got some very appreciative reactions.
But half the fun besides reading aloud is knowing that the Sunday school lesson is hidden right in the story, and my little listeners don't know it yet.
I wonder if God feels the same way with us as He brings lessons to light through our story.
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