Despite being separated from the noise of the larger world, moments of silence are few and far between right now. As I write this lesson, I’m surrounded by the sounds of parakeets talking loudly to one another in their cage, my son meeting with his tutor via Zoom and a dog barking at a squirrel who dared to run across our lawn. God is definitely present in all of these noises, but it can be hard to recognize God in these moments. This activity will help your family cultivate some silence to reflect on and notice the presence of God.
Begin the time with your children by asking them to sit silently for 30 seconds. While 30 seconds may seem like a short amount of time, it’s likely that they may get wiggly or even start making noises. Ask them what it was like to try to be quiet for that time. Did they feel comfortable or uncomfortable? How did their bodies react to the silence? What did they think about while they were silent?
Read aloud Psalm 23:1-3. (You may choose to read the entire psalm to your children, but the activity will focus in on the first three verses). As you read, ask the children to close their eyes and picture the scene that the psalmist David paints in these verses. Discuss what they pictured. Then ask them what they might have heard if they were in that setting. Note that David describes a peaceful, quiet place where the water is still. Have the children reflect on how it would feel to be in this space. Share that God draws us to this quiet peaceful place. In it, we can be silent and notice God around us. We can experience this same sort of silent place in our own lives, even if we don’t have a green pasture next to still waters to lay down in.
Developmentally, children may not be able to sit quietly and think deeply about God’s presence, so each option includes an active component that will direct their movement and will focus them on an element of God that is familiar to them.
Print out a meditative coloring sheet for your child. (Searching online for “adult coloring sheets” will give you some good options.) There is a wide variety of different styles and pictures available online. What differentiates these from other coloring sheets is that they are detailed, encouraging the “colorer” to slow down and fill in each space deliberately. Give your child one of these sheets along with several different colored pencils or crayons. Ask children to color carefully and slowly, using as many colors as possible. While coloring, silently think about God. (Younger children may not be able to color within the small spaces, so encourage them to just use as many colors as they can on the sheet. They also may need an element of God to focus on. You may choose to ask them to think about all the ways God loves the world.) After the coloring time, ask the child to share what his/her thoughts about God were while creating the piece of art.
JOELLE BRUMMIT-YALE is the director of children’s and youth ministries at Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. When not at the church, she can usually be found at home with her son and husband caring for their many animals and developing their family homestead.
