Sharing is hard. Right? And it can be hard for everyone, not just little ones. For example, as parents, we find ourselves sharing all that we have with our children. We share our food, our stuff, our bed space, our time, and our love. Sometimes, as a mom, I want to not share (especially my food and sleep – ha!). I want those precious hours of uninterrupted REM to myself, or to simply eat a peaceful meal without hearing “Mommymommymommymommy” 100 times in a row, but ultimately we do share the things we have because we love our children unconditionally and want to put them first. Even when our energy is low, our plates are nearly empty, and our patience is wearing thin; we give.
How much more does our Heavenly Father give to us? In the Patience Fruit Stand, we’ve been learning about the ways Jesus shows us how to live. When he fed the 5,000, the Bible says he was originally headed to a place to rest. He was tired. He’d been traveling and teaching, and honestly, he probably just wanted to grab a nap and some food. But when the people found out where he was going, they went there too, and suddenly Jesus was in the presence of a huge crowd of people. Did he turn them away? Did he remind them of his busy speaking schedule and retreat into solitude? Matthew 14 tells us that he had compassion on them. He put them first. He healed their sick. He gave.
This past week, we learned about the widow in Luke 21. Many people were going to the temple to give to God out of their finances. The Bible says that the rich gave “out of their abundance,” meaning, they had so much that their gift was no great sacrifice. Contrast this display to the widow who only gave two small coins. It doesn’t sound like much, but to this widow, who had very little, it was everything she had. We can imagine that the big gifts from the wealthy were what people were watching. Probably no one noticed the widow and her seemingly inconsequential gift. But Jesus noticed. He said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.” Her gift was a gift of proportion. The widow demonstrated sacrificial giving.
The Bible shows us over and over again how God gives this way to us. He gave His only Son, after all, and as our Bible verse this week described, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
The Bible doesn’t tell us the widow’s fate. Did she go home, her last means of self-support gone, to wither away and die? I don’t think so. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure [ . . . ] will be poured into your lap.” In other words, you reap what you sow.
Here are some of the clay coins the firsties designed to help them remember this moment in Biblical history, to remember to give to others, even when it means missing out on something they want.
I noticed many examples of sacrificial giving during the week, moments where a student put another first. One washed another’s paint-covered table after art without being asked. One helped a friend tie his shoe. One waited patiently after being called on when a friend bumped his knee and needed a teacher’s immediate attention, giving up her turn. One shared a part of her snack when a friend forgot his at home. One passed a friend the last piece of white paper, even though she was planning to use it herself.
These little moments might not seem like much. They might even go unnoticed by most.
Jesus notices.
The firsties share their attention with this week’s Star of the Week as he shares about himself, reads a story, and demonstrates his talent.
The firstie saints devote focus to an assortment of scientific research and writing projects throughout the week.
The firsties give one another respect and grow patience while taking turns during math workshop and calendar.
The {Patience} Fruit Stand 