Living in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
October 9, 2014
Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:1-9
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:4-7
How do we rejoice when everything seems upside down? I have been working around justice issues regarding children for over 40 years and in many ways it is just sad that we have made no more progress than we have made. Some things have actually gotten worse like child abuse, or we now know more about the actual incidence than we did then. I don’t know which. Other data about child wellbeing show some improvement but certainly not enough. We have made great strides in some areas in Oklahoma like early childhood development, but it teeters on the edge of adequate funding each year. The education reforms of 1990’s have gradually been dismantled. Our teen pregnancy rate goes down and then back up in rhythm with our commitment to address it.
In times like these, I think of the story of the boy walking by the sea when he comes upon a man tossing star fish that have washed ashore back into the ocean. The boy asks him why he is doing that for there are hundreds of star fish on the beach and there is no way he can save them all. The man reaches down and picks up another star fish and gently tosses it back into the ocean replying, “I saved that one.” We rejoice in each and every child who could not read and now can, who nearly died from a simple sinus infection who now thrives, who has moved three or four times each year all of her life from school to school who is now succeeding in college, and who walked to school each day among drug dealers and gang members but maintained his values and is now an officer in the U.S. Army. This is just a short example of my list of children about whom I rejoice. I suggest that you make a list of children about whom you can rejoice today and offer their names up to God in praise.
Oklahoma Fact: Between 2006 and 2010 the school dropout rate declined by 21%*
Prayer: Lord we thank you for each and every child whose paths we have crossed in whom we have seen your glory as they overcame obstacles that seemed insurmountable at the time. Thank you for all the lovers of children you made available to them who may never have known what a wonderful impact they made on each child. Amen.
*http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/4129-change-over-time-in-high-school-dropout-rates?loc=38&loct=2#detailed/2/any/false/1020/any/9367
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.