I Might Have to Start Feeling Old Now

My original Cubbie class graduated out into Sparks today.
For y'all who don't know, Cubbies and Sparks are mini-groups in something called A.W.A.N.A. It's a Bible memorization and study group where kids work through workbooks, memorizing, and studying the Bible. The named comes from 2 Timothy 2:15

"Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth."

Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed.

It's a pretty neat program, I was in it from Cubbies, 3-5 year olds, until this time last year when I got my Citation Award. Going through the program is one of the main accomplishments in my life and I'm very proud of Timmy who joined the ranks of Citation owners and actually did the speech for tonight.

It's crazy to think about, 2 years ago these little kids were just starting through this program and it was my first time ever working in a regularly meeting classroom setting. I really had no idea what I was doing so it was really good that Timmy's mom was in charge and not me, I just helped and she's the child teaching master, so it was a fantastic experience for me.
I don't know if I can really put into words the feeling you get when a little kid starts to see Jesus, or when they start to ask you questions about this God fellow you're talking about or about that Bible thing you read from every week. It's really a blessing to be working in this ministry and now the kids that I've been teaching for the past two years are moving on to be taught by another group of people. They'll answer all their questions, make sure they don't get too banged up during game time or too upset when mom and dad drop them off.

It's kind of bitter sweet to be honest, I'll really miss seeing my little group every Wednesday, but I know that they're ready to be little Sparks and all the ones I've talked to are excited to move up. The people that'll be looking after them now are very capable and will continue doing a great job. The leader of the Sparks area is actually Eric's mom and taught me for as much if my time in A.W.A.N.A. as I can remember, so I know from personal experience that she will take very good care of them all.

For those of you wondering, I don't know if I'll teach in Cubbies next year. It depends on how I'm doing medically when the time rolls around and what my schedule's like, but I'm always happy to do children's ministry and one day I really hope to be the head teacher of a Cubbie class.

Well, that was a lot longer and deeper than I was originally intending, but that's just what you get with life sometimes.