“The club was cancelled,” he said. It was a simple statement, but my reaction was strong.
“Canceled!” I thundered. “Really??? Why?”
My son is teaching Bible clubs this summer. For each club, he goes to a person’s home, a park or a school every day for one week spending about 1.5 hours teaching Bible lessons, stories of missionaries and their faith, along with Bible verses and fun songs. The children, typically, really enjoy the time and everyday eagerly look forward to the arrival of their teachers.
This week one of the clubs my son was assigned to teach was made up entirely of young children from Mexico. None of them speak English as their mother tongue and some of them do not speak English at all. Sadly, my son does not speak Spanish. There was a language barrier. Yet, with God all things are possible, right? The report after the first evening was hopeful. They were good children and they were attentive; he hoped they understood enough. We quickly made the decision to send out a prayer update to the people who have committed to pray for him and this ministry. God, the God who sent tongues of fire that first Pentecost, could surely overcome this language barrier and an impact could be made on these children. We had faith! Call out the prayer warriors! Let’s see what God does!
I was excited.
The call came the next morning. The hostess had cancelled the club because she did not feel the children were understanding enough. I felt deflated. My son felt sad. It was too soon, he told me, to cancel. Maybe they were getting more than was realized, at least give God a chance!
I was disappointed.
It’s been almost twenty-four hours now since the club was cancelled and I keep thinking about it. Perhaps she made the wisest decision, it’s not for me to know, but it has caused me to wrestle with a question. Where am I closing the door to possibilities with God? I truly believe it’s possible that God could reach those children even though the young man did not speak their native tongue. I truly believe with God all things are possible. Yet, in my own life, I know I shut the door in the same way.
Where are you shutting the door and limiting what God could do in your life?