Have faith, He’s got you
Lent 2022 [pt. 2]
I did WHAT?!
Yeah, it certainly feels a little awkward to say: I wrote and taught my kids’ Eucharist class. However, the hardest part to do so is truly the time. Every piece of information you need is at your fingertips, you just have to have patience in searching and scrolling… and scrolling more, then searching again. I found some great books on Amazon, fantastic short videos on YouTube and all sorts of bible school craft activities on the web. I decided on what pillars of our faith would be most significant to learn and I divided them into 7 classes, leaving one open week for our church’s youth pastor to come chat. I knew I wanted it to coincide with Lent and Easter to give them a strong foundation of understanding of our faith and their relationship with Jesus, so I decided we would have class every Wednesday night leading up to Easter, when they would receive the Body and Blood of Christ on the most Holy day of the year.
Why didn’t they just take a church class?
My kids came to ME when they were very young asking about church and who God was. They were very young, I had not even known where they had heard religious terms. So, as a family we began attending a church a few close friends of mine had attended. My husband at the time and I were both born and raised Catholics and we decided to baptize our children the same. However I wasn’t quite ready to dive into catholic mass with toddlers, so we began dipping our toe in a smaller church. Never in my 8 years of religion classes growing up did I learn as much as my kids learned about the Bible and Jesus in the short time they attended this new church. Never was it so apparent to me, than when Covid sheltered us in place and we did Vacation Bible School at home with kits made from church. I was in awe of what MY KIDS were teaching ME. I knew this was the place for my kids to grow in their relationship with God, however the church did not have a formal 1st Communion rite of passage. So I blended what I loved about my childhood church with our new church home, and decided we would create our own special 1st Communion Celebration.
Each week, I read the readings, they answered and asked such great questions, they showed their love and understanding through crafts -- and my heart would burst with pride. It became something they even looked forward to doing. My son memorized the Lord’s Prayer after reading and saying it just a few times. Man, I remember all the bother I felt needing to memorize “junk” for “CCD” class and never felt like I learned a thing. But here were my kids, not only showing up, but choosing to learn and embrace it all. We were doing it, and succeeding.
The last week was our hardest. We delayed Wednesday’s class to Thursday because the kids were full of anxiety, worry and exhaustion from a rocky start to the week. Then Thursday came and I received another gut-punch sort of email that sent me reeling for the evening. I couldn’t bear to teach. But then, once again, there was Jesus. Along came Good Friday. As if that was the day we were meant to gather and learn all along. It was a beautiful Good Friday. We went through our last class, made our last crafts and enjoyed a beautiful rendition of “An Easter Hallelujah” (I encourage you to watch it here: https://youtu.be/dszpVNJlklM). We finished and it was just in time to head to our church to experience an interactive Stations of the Cross. My sweet kiddos were so very much invested in each station and all the meaning, it was everything a person of faith could wish to see from any young person, but especially from their own children. The last station provided bread and wine and my son eagerly spoke, “I wish we could take it!” while my daughter reminded him, “We can next year!” They both agreed they couldn’t wait to experience the stations again next year.
And as we sat at the dining room table, decorating our Easter eggs at the end of our Good Friday, I couldn’t help but be in awe. We did it, we actually did it.
On Sunday, they grew in their relationship with God and received their first Body and Blood of Christ. I am so stinking proud of the effort and enthusiasm they have put into the last 8 weeks. I am confident of the foundations they have built themselves to grow upon. You know what? Of all the craziest ups and downs I have overcome this year so far, the achievement of seeing this through is what I am most proud of. There are very few things I boast about, but dannnnnnnnng… I did that! I know in my heart though, I didn’t do it alone.
At the 2nd station my kids needed to pick up a brick to carry with them through the experience. This was their own “cross”. At different times they needed to write on the brick their guilt, their worries, their regrets and their burdens. Their arms became heavy the further we went. It’s impossible not to feel this in our world today. Finally at the 9th station, when Jesus is nailed to the cross, they are asked to lay their brick at the base of the cross.
The world comes at us from all directions, especially in today’s fast-paced, possession driven world. We do our best to maintain who we are and what we believe, but often times our desire to simply survive, clouds where our focus should be. We get caught up, sometimes like a snowball effect, trying in fright to ensure our life and paths for ourselves, in the way we see it to be best for us. But we cannot control all the pieces and all the powers at play in our lives. I’ve learned that as well as anyone. We can make all the “right” choices and life will still have its own plot twist. We must learn we cannot always prepare the way for ourselves. I have not overcome my challenges alone. I will write “Jesus” on every line that questions how I’ve gotten to where I am today. And for how in the world I accomplished guiding and teaching my kids in preparation for their First Communion.
“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” Matthew 10:39
For us He died, but He is RISEN. He is for us. Have faith.
