POPCORN & PANCAKES

We weren’t able to have children of our own, so we delight in investing our time, hearts and effort into other peoples’ kids.   For some reason I was drawn to a group of boys and girls at church that were in the fifth grade.   They were active and inquisitive, and I loved being around them.

On Sundays, I was invited to teach the Bible to that age group.  All of them were pretty outgoing and bright as buttons.   My passion is sharing not only the truths of the Scriptures, but thinking of ways to bring alive the application into the shoe-leather of living.

I remember the time we were talking about prayer and the privilege of sharing in conversation with the Lord our needs and the needs of others.   There are many aspects of prayer that are so practical.   I’ve discovered that in teaching children, if we can use a variety of ways of sharing truths through objects that touch their five senses (smell, touch, sight, hearing, and taste), they find it much easier to remember the story.

Drawing is not an ability I have, but straight lines I can handle.   I drew a very large ice cream “cone” that was about three feet high, and each week I would put together a 12” circle made from various colors of construction paper.   These round circles represented flavors on the cone.  On each flavor-color, I would write out a different characteristic of prayer. 

On another occasion we studied God’s parting of the Red Sea.   I took an 8 x 13” glass dish lining half of the dish with plastic wrap, and I poured one cup of red liquid jello into one side of the dish, bringing the plastic wrap over to hold it in place.  Then I did the same thing on the other side of the long dish.  After allowing the jello to firm up overnight I took the dish of jello to class the following morning.  Everyone gathered around the jello, I mean my Red Sea, to listen to the details of this event.

Then, we circled around the 8 x l3 glass sea of red jello, and I would pull back the siran wrap and they could see the “jello sea” parting.    In our interaction after the illustration, we cut up the red sea and ate it.    My prayer was that every time they ate red jello, they would be reminded what God did for His people.

Another week we covered the event of God destroying the walls of Jericho for His people.  We would really delve into the details of God’s instructions that He gave His people.  They were to walk around Jericho once a day for six days, with no conversation.  Then on the seventh day, they were to walk around the city seven times, again with no one talking.  Then as they completed their instructions on the seventh round of the city, they observed the miracle of God bringing down those walls with just a shout from the crowd. 

 It was a wonderful teaching tool to show the young people the importance of “obedience,” because there was a time or two in their parade around the room, where some were making comments and I shared that if they wanted to experience the obedience of God’s instructions, they needed to be absolutely quiet.

By now you’re wondering where the popcorn and pancakes comes into this story.   Later that year, I made arrangements with the parents to allow their sons and daughters to come to our home for an overnight “slumber party.”  The event was overwhelmingly chaperoned by my husband and I.   Each child brought their own sleeping bag, pillow and pajamas.   The cuisine that evening consisted of hot dogs and chips. 

Before bedtime, we sat around munching buttered popcorn.  I don’t think I sat down all evening, but the joy and laughter that filled our home that evening was sweet.  Our home was loaded with about nine Red Sea students, boys in the family room and girls in the living room all preparing to get horizontal for a night’s sleep.   To our surprise they calmed down at a decent hour.  I think they were so full of hot dogs they couldn’t move.

I set my alarm for an early hour, and made my way to the kitchen.  The aroma of bacon frying woke everyone up.  They all took turns dressing in the bathroom and promptly joined me in the kitchen.  Paper plates were the best call of the day, and various kids were helping set the table and pouring orange juice as every skillet I owned was being loaded down with pancakes.   They ate every last pancake. 

After breakfast all of the parents arrived to take their children home.  I was ready for another night’s sleep by this time, but we had a wonderful time together.  

About 15 years later, one of the students came to our home in Washington State for a visit.  She was all grown up and in university by now.  We loved sharing and hearing about her life and how God had been weaving the strands of experience to build her into a lovely young woman.   

At one point of the evening she shared with us her memory of the sleepover at our home and the popcorn and pancakes.  It was a wonderful memory for her and the others being loved on in such a fun way.

I had no idea that this event seemed so important to her as well as to the others.   I gravitate to the practical things of life anyway, but this memory holds tender thoughts and the recognition that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to let a child know that they are loved!