One Day in The Lord’s Nursery

Devotional for Friday, July 29, 2011

What a wonderful decision I made when I answered “yes” to my Lord’s request. Of course, it was a woman’s voice on the phone, asking me to serve two hours in the Church Nursery on Thursday morning. But we all know who was truly doing the asking.

I went in expecting giggles and tears, shyness and laughter amidst a few missing shoes, an occasional dirty diaper and (of course) a dependable runny nose. After all, I am a Mother, and I felt quite confident about my ability to care for the “Two and under” gang.

What I did not expect, however, was the depth of revelation and insight that our precious Lord was waiting to reveal to me. It is my desire to share those insights with each of you.

The first thing I realized was how every child was in the same room, doing the same thing. They were all in the nursery, and they were all playing with toys. What I began to see happen however, is that they continued to stumble, fall and run into each other. This happened because they were not connected. How much this reminded me of our Church body. How many times have we, ourselves, been responsible for “coming down the slide” and knocking someone else right off their feet, just as they were finally finding the ability, balance and strength, to get onto them?

Next I saw how the children behaved when they were hurt, both in the physical sense and in the emotional sense as well. One little boy in particular just scrunched up his face, closed his eyes… and proceeded to just let it all out! What freedom he must have experienced, to allow the outside to represent what was taking place on the inside. How many times do we, as adults, deny ourselves this same freedom for fear of what those around us would think?

Other children, however, would look around first, after realizing that they were hurt, to see if anybody had noticed. As they searched for, and found a face full of tender compassion, only then did they allow their pain to show. How many times do we, as individuals allow indifference and yes, even impatience, to represent themselves on our faces and in our attitudes? How many times do we “pick someone up” for just a fleeting moment, brush them off and then tell them that they are okay. How many times, in our own hurriedness, do we miss the chance to minister to someone that the Lord has sent our way?

It was of no real surprise that unity showed itself most evident at Snack Time. Looks of happy anticipation and little legs hurrying as fast as they could brought most of the children to the table. Others came quite prepared “plop” themselves down contentedly, next to the “Snack Giver”. The sound of little hearts singing could almost be heard, as each child’s hunger was being satisfied and their thirst was being quenched.

This reminded me of Sunday mornings. How happy most of us are to enter into the House of the Lord and to sit at His table, in His presence. I wonder how many times our focus is of ourselves, with each of us being intent on receiving only what we, as individuals, might need. How many times do we fail to see that the person sitting next to us may not be able to “feed” themselves as easily as we do. Quite possibly all they might need is a kind look of encouragement, or a simple word of guidance, or even just an example to follow. After all, how soon we seem to forget how very difficult the task of feeding ourselves was for us in the beginning, both physically and spiritually.

Then there are those that seem to wait until everyone else had been fed. They wait patiently and quietly off to the side. Almost unnoticeably, they gather the crumbs that others have dropped, never expecting any more for themselves. How many times do we, as believers fail to stop just long enough to invite that person to the Lord’s Table, and to assure them that there is a place that is being saved, just for them. What an enormous difference that could make in someone’s life!

Dearest to my heart was what the Lord showed me, as one special little girl climbed into a crate. She had dumped out all of the toys first, and was quite satisfied to simply step into it and then very carefully set herself down on one of the edges. She was very content with her accomplishments, and it showed on her face.

A little while later, the same little girl dumped the toys out of another crate. Only this time the crate was MUCH smaller. She somehow had managed to fit both feet inside of the crate, and again, much more carefully this time, balance herself on one of the edges. She was so precious… just sitting there. She could not move at all. In fact, she could scarcely breathe, for if she had dared, she would have most definitely lost her balance. What a lesson I learned from her! How many times do we, as the Lord’s grown children, maneuver ourselves into the tiniest of spaces and deny ourselves the room to move, stretch and grow?

The last and most important lesson of all was revealed in the form of a beautiful and lively little boy. This little boy became quite involved in whatever activity he happened to be doing. Whether it was throwing a ball, climbing the slide or pushing shapes through a hole, he gave each activity his very fullest attention… until he heard the door creak. Then at that instant, he would abandon anything and everything he was involved with, and run quite swiftly to the gate. At that point he would step up onto the gate and pull himself up to his fullest height, and peer over. Then, with excited anticipation he stood… happily awaiting the arrival of his much beloved Mother.

What a delight it was to observe this little boys deep love for his Mother… love that sprang into action at just the tiniest perception of her arrival. What joy would fill our precious Lord’s heart if only we, too would respond immediately and with such complete abandon… to His presence and call in our lives. How much sweeter our relationship would be.

In closing, I am reminded of the following in Luke 18, verses 16 and 17 which read,

“But Jesus called to Him, saying,

Allow the little children to come to Me,

and do not hinder them,

for to such (as these) belongs to the Kingdom of God.

Truly I say to you, whoever does not accept

and receive and welcome the Kingdom of God

like a little child shall not (in any way) enter into it.”

Luke 18, verses 16 and 17

Thank you for allowing me to share with you the things that the Lord has placed on my heart. My prayer is that we will be constantly and forever reminded that each one of us is a very special, unique and deeply loved child of the God Most High.

written by Beverley A. Napier