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Guest Blogger - Intern Emily

Posted by Children's Ministry on with 5 Comments

Introducing our Guest Blogger - Family Ministries Intern Emily!

God majorly blessed me through the children of St. John’s this summer. I have spent the last ten weeks getting to share God’s love with some of the most incredible kids you can find and being blessed by them and their simple yet overwhelming love for their Father in heaven, both at work and volunteering. I spent Vacation Bible School volunteering alongside many of you who are reading this. I was blessed to teach an amazing class of four year olds, who are particularly close to my heart, with some of the best youth and adult volunteers on the planet.

The Bible lessons and the answers that twenty pre-schoolers collaborated to produce were my very favorite part of the week. One little girl in my class, though being one of the youngest, knew nearly every answer to every question I asked during our Bible lesson. As much as I would like to think she just paid super close attention to detail while the lessons were taught, I know that most of the things she knew were ingrained in her mind because of her parents’ raw love for Jesus and the value they place on reading the Bible together as a family at home. The best part about these answers were the few answers that she did not know and the go to answer she always was eager to offer up. No matter what the question called for, a person’s name, a favorite animal noise, a prayer request, this little girl always jumped up from her crisscross applesauce spot on the story rug, throwing her arms into the air and shouted “Jesus!!!”, at the top of her tiny lungs.

While this answer was unbelievably cute, it really means a lot more than just what you might perceive on the surface. This little girl was unafraid to speak up in front of a fairly large class of kids who many of which she had just met because she had confidence in one thing. She took comfort and was unafraid to go out on a limb because she knew that Jesus is always the right answer. Even if another child in the class raised their hand to answer a question and got nervous to speak in front of the class or forgot their answer suddenly, she would crawl across the rug and whisper her favorite answer in their ear, ultimately sharing Jesus with all those around her. After witnessing these actions, all that I could think of was John 14:6, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’”.

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’”.  John 14:6


This little girl reminded me that no matter my fears or hesitations, Jesus is always the answer and that I can always take comfort in Him, knowing that He is the answer to every one of life’s questions and His incredible love for each and every one of us will ease even the most intense fears. The things we fear, that make us uncomfortable, or push us to nervousness can often be dissuaded with one simple answer… Jesus.

Big transitions are often the times in which we need to trust that Jesus is the ultimate answer the most. I cannot think of a single human I know who can conquer any transition totally calmly without the love of Jesus to dispel their hesitations, fears, and uneasiness. As big transitions occurred within children’s ministries with some special people taking on new roles these past few months, even bigger transitions occurred within our church as our new Family Ministry Team came together as one unit to ensure that we are reaching beyond just the children in Sunday School each week.

The new goals set forth by our Family Ministry Team involve showing whole families how easy it is to pray together, to read and study the Bible together, and to do devotions regularly as a whole family. One if not all of these tasks can seem pretty daunting to a parent or family member with a million other things going on around them but once again, the answer to these fears is Jesus. I encourage all of you to approach the transitions of the new school year, the new changes within our church, the new challenges before you, and old challenges with prayer, casting all your burdens on Him because He cares for you.

Emily Dabrow

Family Ministries Intern

 

 

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Comments

Sarah Bourne August 16, 2016 10:13pm

Well done, dear Emily. So glad I could read this. You are such a joy and I treasure the time we worked together. May you continue to walk with Jesus and shine His powerful light with your life. Love you tons!!

Irma Bates August 18, 2016 10:21am

Love your voice in this! You are awesomesauce! And we've been blessed to have had the opportunity to work with you.

LIndsay Hausch August 18, 2016 12:53pm

I got chills! This is beautifully written and a truth I need reminded of every day Emily. Thank you!

Robin Lyall August 20, 2016 12:35pm

Thank you for this beautifully written testimony and your loving service. You touched my heart!!

Lara August 20, 2016 8:30pm

I'm so proud of you,Emily! It has been a joy and a pleasure to serve with you this summer.