Children's Church and tears

Question:What do you think of when you think of Easter?
Answer: Easter eggs, rabbits, Easter egg hunt, candy, Jesus raising again.

Question: What is the most pain you have ever been in or when were you the most scared?
Answer: Broken arm, being alone at home when it was raining, being alone at baseball practice, broken finger, surgery.

I'm going to tell you a story today about a little 5 year old girl. It was a few days before Easter and she wanted to go play on the swing set that her neighbors had. It was a early in the morning and nice and sunny, so the little girls mom said ok go play. She was just swinging on the swings when the neighbor girl came outside and called her to come over and look at the rabbits her family owned. The little girl went over, she didn't know that she was going to get a rabbit for Easter. Well the older girl, named Poly, had a dog with her. The dog that her brother had found in the woods. It was a really big dog, a mixed bread of german shepard, timber wolf, and huskie. All of a sudden this dog jumps on the little girl and starts to bite her. She's crying and screaming. Poly is yelling for her mom. Poly's mom was inside their house, but in the basement not able to hear her. The little girls mom was sitting in the room facing the other girls house, but had the curtain closed because of the sun. The mom of the little girl would have been able to see this event happen had she had the curtain open. Poly continues to yell and is trying to get the dog off the little girl. She's ripping the clothes off of the little girl. The little girl continues to cry and scream. Poly has is laying between the little girl and the dog, but the dog continues to tear at this little girl. Finally, after what seems like forever, Poly's mom came upstairs and hears Poly yelling. She comes running outside, yanks the dog off and starts beating it. Poly picked up the little girl and ran into her house. She layed her down on the black leather couch and goes to the phone. She called 911 right away and then asked the little girl her phone number. Poly calls the little girls family, the dad of the little girl is a doctor. The mom and dad come running over and instantly the dad starts to put bandages and gause on the little girl. The little girl is cold and very scared. Poly's mom is so sorry, she just kept telling the little girls mom, I'm so sorry. The little girls mom just kept hugging her. At one point the little girl looks at her daddy and says, "Daddy, am I going to die?" The daddy looks back and says, "No, you're going to be ok." What a reassurance that little girl had! Eventually the ambulance shows up and the little girl is rushed to a hospital and ends up with about 150 stitches. After a couple nights in the hospital the little girl comes home on Easter.

SO...that was my story I was telling my kids yesterday at Children's Church. They were so quite and so attentive. Given I was pretty animated and even broke into tears at the point where the little girl asked her daddy is she was going to die. I AM THAT LITTLE GIRL! That is a very true story. My point of using that story was to let the children know that even when they are hurting or in a lot of pain or scared that they can ask their HEAVENLY FATHER if they will be all right and HE'S going to be there for them! I couldn't believe that I cried during children's church! How crazy, right? Well, I've had 3 parents tell me that their child was moved by my story. It was great to be able to use this story 29 years later to influence kids today. I share this with you not to be prideful by any means, but to just encourage you when you are living through some really tough stuff, you never know when God is going to be able to use you to minister to others!