“Jesus, I hope the kids want to make friends. And, Jesus, make this day the best day ever. Amen.”  Prayer of a four-year-old the night before the first day of pre-school.

“Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of God.”  Jesus quoted in Matthew 18:3

In her mom’s words, this was what happened the next morning.

“M. woke up excited to start preschool. She rushed through breakfast, quickly brushed her teeth, and settled for a simple French braid in her hair because the fancy style she picked out the night before would take too long. Sitting in the parking lot waiting for the school doors to open, M. started having second thoughts. She wanted to go home and never come back. She said she couldn’t do this. She wished I hadn’t signed her up for this. Trying to show her that she wasn’t the only one who was scared, I pointed out a little girl crying in her mom’s arms. M. couldn’t get out of the car fast enough. She grabbed her backpack and walked over to make the sad girl feel better.”

When I called her mom that afternoon, M. Insisted on getting on the phone to tell me herself about her first day.  She sounded so confident and mature as she outlined the events of the morning.  They sang songs, they sat on colored carpet squares, books were read, she drew an apple and a person who she wanted to color blue and did, there were two teachers and a helper.  And there was a new friend made.  She wasn’t going to be scared on Monday because she knows “what it looks like now”.  Her mom commented,  “She seems four years older now than when we left this morning.”

A tale of faith, doubt, fear, and obedience.  How many times do I have faith to ask for blessings, then stumble in the quagmire of doubt when it’s time to take action?  I sometimes ask God why he signed me up for this. Paralyzed by fear, I falter as I stand on the brink of a great adventure.  But in the end, I hope to always be like M. who hurried to obey by showing love and kindness to others and in the process received a great blessing.