Over the last few days I have been glued to the internet reading about plans for reopening schools in the fall while simultaneously texting and emailing with other parents trying to make sense of it all. I imagine many of you are in similar situations. We’re jumping between sources trying to figure out what research and guidelines will best protect and serve our children. Even if our kids don’t know all the details of these discussions, they do know that what they previously knew as “school” is not in the near future. All this uncertainty can be unsettling. To help ground our children in the certain knowledge God knows us and is with us, this lesson offers Psalm 139 as a springboard for recognizing the stability offered by our faith.
Begin the time with your children by playing a game. Pretend you are another child meeting your child for the first time. Ask your child: What do you think is most important for me to know about you? After playing this game, discuss the information your child shared. Why did they choose these things to share? How do these traits make your child who they are? Why should someone know these things about your child? How will that help the two become friends?
Share Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24 with your children. After reading the text, discuss what the psalm says about God’s understanding of human beings. Be sure they notice that God knows everything about us. God knows all that we are and all that we do, even before we recognize it. Note that this idea may unsettle your children, as they may believe God is monitoring them. Reassure them that God’s complete knowledge of people doesn’t exist so that God can control or judge us. It is a sign of God’s overwhelming love and commitment to humanity. Also, be sure to highlight the idea that what God knows and loves is good and is certain. Even when our lives feel uncertain, God’s knowledge is certain.
Continue to explore the ideas in this psalm through a short art project. Gather some construction paper or printer paper, crayons or makers, and glue. Have your children cut a circle out of a sheet of paper. In the middle of this circle, have each child write their name. This circle will serve as the center of this flower craft. Then, cut out a series of petals out of the paper (elongated raindrop shapes work best). Ask each child to use the markers or crayons to write and/or draw something on each petal that is a key part of who that child is. The petals reflect personality traits, interests, activities or any other part of the child’s life that they identify as important. Glue these petals to the center circle containing the child’s name. The best way to do this is to place the circle face down and then to put a bit of glue on the front of the smallest part of the petal. Press the glue face down onto the circle, placing each petal in a series around the edge of the circle. Lastly, cut a stem for the flower and a mound of soil from a piece of paper. Have children color then glue the stem to the flower and then the entire plant to the soil.
Once the flower craft is completed, talk with your child about the meaning of the craft. Point out that this flower represents all that they are. The stem of the plant is connected to the soil, which helps it grow by giving it water and nutrients and also helping to hold it up. Plants thrive when they are well rooted in the soil. This soil represents God. God’s love for and understanding of us, as seen in the psalm, helps keep us strong and gives us stability even when things seem uncertain around us.
Hang your flower crafts up somewhere in your house where they can serve as a reminder to your family of our greatest comfort and certainty: that we belong to God.
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.
