Good Shepherd Lutheran Church / Friday, March 26, 2021 / Categories: Publications, Daily Devotions Daily Devotion by Sandi Wearne People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. But Jesus called for them and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” Luke 18:15-17 This past Christmas our daughter gave my husband a gift from StoryWorth, an online site for recording family stories. Every week Grant receives an email with a different question to answer. Questions have included topics such as childhood memories of family trips, favorite childhood toys and how he felt when his military service ended. Grant submits his answers online & our daughter & I receive emails with his recorded answers. I’ve enjoyed reading additional details to stories I may have previously heard and our daughter appreciates new stories she may have never heard. These stories will be a lasting connection to her dad. I look forward to receiving these weekly emails and like to re-read his past stories and anticipate receiving the next story. In thinking about these stories, I remembered how meaningful stories can be to each of us. A few of the functions of stories in our lives can be to tell a family’s or a peoples’ history, teach a lesson or purely to entertain us. Out of curiosity, I did a quick search of the word story and an online thesaurus offered suggestions such as “scoop,” “adventure” and “long and short of it” as options to using the word. Egermeier’s Bible Story Book is a book that I remember picking up many times in our family home. I loved the stories and it was all the better if there was a picture to go along with the story. Cherished Bible stories also came from devoted Sunday School or Vacation Bible School teachers or from my parents decades ago. As a young child, I expressly remember my happiness in hearing the New Testament story where Jesus scolded the disciples for trying to keep the young children from coming to him & then he took the children and blessed them. At that age, I received this story at its face value, being unaware of the significance of Jesus pausing to bless children during this Biblical period or a more scholarly interpretation of what Jesus may have been telling the people. It is likely one of the earliest “Aha!” moments in my spiritual development: Jesus cares about children. He cares about me. I matter! At a young age, this assurance of Jesus’ love became my own story – the “long and short of it.” What holds you or speaks to you in your favorite story? Previous Article Daily Devotion Next Article Daily Devotion Print 6536 Rate this article: 4.0 2 comments on article "Daily Devotion" Danelle Buelsing Sandi, over the years I have seen you pass that same message on to countless children, that they matter, that they are special, that they have value just the way they are. 3/27/2021 10:08 PM Reply to Sandi Wearne Danelle, many thanks for your kind words. 3/29/2021 8:40 PM Reply to Leave a comment Name: Please enter a name. Email: Please enter an email address. Please enter a valid email address. Comment: Please enter comment. I agree This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data. You must read and accept this rules. Add comment
Danelle Buelsing Sandi, over the years I have seen you pass that same message on to countless children, that they matter, that they are special, that they have value just the way they are. 3/27/2021 10:08 PM