Peak Inside a Small Heart

Posted by Jen Overly on May 21, 2010 in Daily Bread | 2 comments

I got a sneak peak into the heart of my almost first-grader while we were on the prayer walk together. We had managed to get a slew of kids and families safely to Argyle Elementary School and as we dispersed to cover the campus in prayer, I grabbed Russell and headed directly for the Kindergarten Hall. I explained quickly that sometimes people who are going through the same things can pray best for each other, so it would be really great for him to pray for the Kindergarten kiddos who were finishing their last week of school and heading into 1st grade next year. I gave him the choice of classroom and, like all great elementary school hallways, the class list was posted outside of the door. So we took turns praying for each child by name. Those moments were some of the best insight I have had into his little heart in a long time. He prayed that those students had a good Kindergarten year, that they made lots of friends, and loved their teachers. He prayed they learned a lot at school and they would have fun this summer and maybe they could come to VBX-Pedition and learn about Jesus. All of that I sort of expected. Then he prayed that they weren’t scared going into first grade. He prayed they got a teacher they loved and who loved them. He prayed that even though they might have to make new friends, that there would be some friends they would already know. And he prayed that they wouldn’t be too sad leaving their Kindergarten class.

Because of his prayers for his peers at Argyle, I was able to get a glimpse of what might be going on in his little mind as he heads out of his Kindergarten year and looks forward first grade: excitement and fear. Through sharing a prayer, in a school hallway, for other kids, I now know how to pray for my own.