 |
|---|
Resources - Children's Pages
December 2001
Kids’ Page
Lighting up the darkness
by Mrs. Anne Groenenboom
“Mum, where are Grandma and Grandpa?” Carla asked as
the children arrived home from school, hot and thirsty.
“They’ve gone to visit the Harrisons,” Mum replied as she poured cool drinks.
Chris collapsed into Grandpa’s recliner chair that
really belonged to Dad, thinking how nice it would be to have the house
to themselves again. Grandma and Grandpa had been living with them for
several weeks now and the house seemed very crowded, especially when
everyone wanted to be near the air conditioner. He wondered how long it
would be before they moved into the bigger house and their grandparents
could have their own flat with their own furniture.
When Dad came home Chris gave him the recliner so that he could cool
off, before Grandpa came home. He listened as his parents talked about
moving. Even though they had prayed about it every day, nothing seemed
to be happening and Mum was getting worried because they would soon have
to move out of their own house. When the phone rang, Dad answered it and
Chris could tell by his voice that it was good news at last. Dad came
back into the room and gave Mum a big hug. “We can start moving in on
Friday!”
Mum heaved a sigh of relief. “That gives us a week before we have to be
out of this house. I shouldn’t have worried. God is good to us and his
timing is just right! Let’s thank him for his blessings before we get
busy packing!”
There was lots of packing to be done and things got busier as the week
went by. On Friday afternoon when the children arrived home, there were
already people from the church helping with moving boxes and smaller
things. Bob Rossini was bringing his truck to help move the heavy things
early the next day, so everyone was up bright and early on Saturday
morning, ready for the big move. The children were jumping with
excitement and Mum warned them to save their energy for the work that
had to be done. She and Grandma were making sandwiches and buttering
teacake to feed their helpers during the morning and when Amy and Carla
washed up after breakfast, they packed the tea and coffee things into a
box, ready to go to the new house. After that, their job was to look
after Joel and keep him out of people’s way, so they took him for a walk
down to the lake to feed the ducks. Later, they’d go on to the new
house, which wasn’t far from the lake. By that time Joel would be ready
for his morning nap and they could help the others.
The “new” house was really an old house with big rooms and lots of
windows. It had a large living area and a fairly modern kitchen and at
the back of the house there was a flat for Grandma and Grandpa where
they could have some peace and quiet. Because it was an old house, there
were some things that needed to be done, but Dad was planning to do them
bit by bit, with Grandpa helping. Several people from the church had
also offered to help them.
By early afternoon, all the furniture was in place and although there
were still dozens of boxes to be unpacked, the house was beginning to
look more like home. It was very hot and everyone was resting on the
big, shady back veranda.
“How about going to the pool for an hour or so?” Mum suggested. “A break will do us all good and I’m sure we’ll work a lot better when we’ve cooled down a bit.”
“That’s a good idea,” Grandma said, “but I think
Grandpa needs to have a rest, so we’ll stay here. We can put the fan in
our bedroom and I’ll sit on my rocking chair and do some reading while
Grandpa has a sleep.”
Everyone else headed for the pool. Once they had all cooled down in the
water, they sat under a shady tree, eating ice creams and Amy commented,
“It’s a pity Grandma and Grandpa didn’t come too. It’s lovely and cool
here.”
“I know, Amy. But don’t forget that older people often don’t enjoy the
things that we do. They want to do their own thing sometimes. Just think
how bored you’d be if you had to do all the things your grandparents
like doing!”
As Chris thought about what Mum said, he realised that his grandparents
were also probably having a hard time living in a house full of
children. His grandparents never complained about the noise they made or
the TV shows they wanted to watch, but the children often complained
when Grandma and Grandpa were watching the shows they liked. He
remembered how stressed Mum often seemed lately and he realised that he
was partly to blame, because he was the one who complained most of all.
He made up his mind to try to be more understanding of the rest of the
family’s needs, rather than thinking of himself all the time.
By the time the school holidays started, Grandma and Mum were busily
baking for Joel’s birthday and Christmas. They even made some tiny
Christmas cakes to give to their neighbours, so that they could get to
know them. Amy and Carla played with Joel and spent the rest of their
time with Grandma, making cards and decorations and bookmarks for
everyone. Grandpa and Chris had a great time together in the garage.
They made a toy box for Joel, book racks for Amy and Carla and a shelf
for Mum to keep her cookbooks in. Next, they made a planter box for
Grandma. When Chris told his grandfather how much he enjoyed working
with him, he was sure he could see tears in Grandpa’s eyes.
The afternoon before Christmas there was a big storm and the power lines
were down. As it got darker, Mum hunted frantically for the box of
candles she kept for emergencies, but she couldn’t find it anywhere.
Although everyone had helped with the unpacking, nobody could remember
seeing the candles.
“It’s just as well we’ve already had tea,” Mum
commented, “otherwise we’d be in real trouble.
“I’ll get the torch from the car, so we can see what we’re doing,” Dad
said but he returned with a torch that didn’t seem to be very bright at
all. Mum used the torch to look for some batteries in the kitchen
cupboard, but there were none to be found.
“With all the fuss of moving, I guess I forgot to buy any batteries,” she commented.
“Now what are we going to do?”
“You can have my special candles if you like,” Amy said quietly. “They’d all make enough light for us, wouldn’t they?” Mum looked at Amy’s solemn face, knowing how much Amy treasured her candle collection.
“That’s very kind of you, Amy. I know how special
your candles are to you, so why don’t you just choose a couple for us to
use and still keep your favourites?”
Amy and Carla took the torch and hurried off, returning with some
brightly coloured candles. Mum gave Amy a hug, then put the candles on
saucers and lit them. The room was filled with a soft glow that chased
the darkness away.
“Do you remember how Isaiah talked about the people who had been walking in darkness until they saw a great light?” Dad said. “Well, we were in darkness a minute ago and although these candles aren’t really a great light, they have certainly made it easier for us to see. That’s how it was before Jesus came to be our Saviour. People were walking in the darkness of sin, until God sent his light into the world, but when that light came, it made such a difference in their lives.”
The children nodded. They’d heard those words before, but now they understood how much difference the light would make.
“That why’s Jesus said ‘I am the light of the world!’
He came to rid the world of sin and darkness,” Dad explained. “God gave
us a wonderful Christmas gift, the gift of eternal life, when Jesus came
to earth just to be our Saviour.”
“You know, that makes me think of the gift Amy has just given us,” Mum
said softly. “She gave us something very special to her, because it was
something we needed.”
Amy blushed and then she said thoughtfully, “Jesus
was very special to God too, wasn’t he, but God gave us his Son because
we needed a Saviour so much.”
“Why don’t we sing some Christmas carols together?” Mum suggested. “We
don’t need electricity to help us sing about God’s goodness to us, do
we?”
“I’m glad the lights are out!” Chris stated after
they’d finished singing. “It seems so special singing together here in
the candlelight and it’s also special because Grandma and Grandpa are
here with us at Christmas time. Now I really know how good God is to
us.”
SOMETHING TO DO
Think about something special to give to the members of your family,
just to show them how special they are to you. A card you’ve made with a
message of your love on it, made especially for each one of them would
be fine.
Think about how you can show your love and thankfulness to God in the
way you live your life.
Back to top
Back to 2001 Index
Return to Children's Archive Year Selector
All material on this site © 2004 Trowel & Sword