Crayons and Paper

Children are amazing. Their tender little hearts are so big and open. My grandchildren and even great grandchildren will bring me pictures that they colored, and I treat them like they were a Rembrandt. I express love for it and them and then place them in a place of honor (on the front of the refrigerator) where anyone coming into the house can see this amazing work of art. They are my prize possession. This is what we, as parents and grandparents do, because of how much we love these children, we value their offerings as silver and gold, when in reality, it’s a piece of paper with scribbling on it. No one would buy it. No one would trade you anything for it. Yet, they are lifted high and honored. Why is that? It’s because we love them SO much and this is what these little people have to offer. They don’t have money; they don’t have gold or silver. They don’t have anything of value at this point in their lives. But they bring them to us as if they were an amazing treasure. When I was in my 20’s, there was a little girl in the church that I went to, her mom and I served on committees together. Nearly every Sunday for a couple of years, she would run to where I was sitting in the sanctuary, and she gave me a rock that she had found that week. Most of these were about 2.5 in in size, so in reality, most went out in our driveway, but you must know that I made a huge deal over those rocks. My boys were older than she was, so they sort of looked at each other and laughed over the silly gift each week, but I felt honored that of all the people in the church, I received the gifts. I kept one and have it still. To this day, I have lost track of the “girl” but I’m sure she would be surprised to know that I still have one.

These are not unlike the gifts we bring God. No, we do not bring him material items. In Biblical times they did bring sacrifices to atone for their sins. Jesus death on the cross took care of that so we no longer need to bring sacrifices for our sins. However, knowing what He did for us and knowing how much HE loves His children, our gifts to Him are important. Not silver, not gold, not Rembrandt type artwork. Instead, we bring prayer, and Praise. We bring our daily struggles to Him. YES! Even our problems are a privilege for Him to hear about. We bring our thanks for gifts and indeed every breath we take. But we MUST remember, what we need to bring is our Praise and worship. He is so worthy!

Psalm 145:3  Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

Lord, there is no way we could ever repay you for what you have done for us. I’m sure our small gifts of praise are like the pictures on my fridge. So small, yet so loved. You alone Lord are worthy of our praise! AMEN

Shirlene Peterson