Brandi Ramirez

Luke 24: 13-34

“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” Isaiah 64:4

In working with my great-granddaughter, I discovered an easy, experiential method of incorporating many of the academic skills required for preschool.  It started with the idea of going through the alphabet and with each letter discovering everything in our environment that relates.  I was able to use the resources available and even some which were easy to access online.

Now that school is closed, because of the Coronavirus, I have decided to use this method again to complete her year in pre-k. Since I just bought a waffle iron, I decided to start with the “W”.  It was amazing, how together, we kept discovering things that relate.

That morning, together, we made the batter for the waffles. While we ate them, I asked, her if she could think of other words with the “W” sound. She did. Then we moved into her playroom where she had a cart with books. I said, let’s find a book with a “W” word in the title. As I glanced at the cart. “Lo and behold”, stood the book titled, “Welcome to Kindergarten”.  That led to a discussion on the meaning of the word, “welcome”. As we read, I told her to find other words beginning with that letter. There were many. One word we found was the word “wood”. That reminded me of how we used a “wooden” spoon to stir the batter, which led to the discovery of other things made of wood in her room. And, of course, you guessed it, that led to the discussion of where wood actually, originates.  As I am writing this, the wooden cross where Jesus died on the cross, just popped into my mind, and how it represents the Tree of Life- the promise made sure as He shed His blood.

When I opened her bible to find a story, I allowed her to choose which one she wanted to read. She chose the story of Jesus’ baptism. We learned what baptism means, and why Jesus asked John to baptize Him. And of course, how He was baptized, in the water! I asked her what big animal swims in the ocean beginning with “w”, and we discovered the word, “whale”.  If I had so inclined, we could have watched a YouTube video and learned facts about whales.  We’ve done this previously when I was teaching her preschool skills before she officially started school. Again, as I continue to write this little episode, I am thinking how Jonah remained in the whale three days, and then came out to preach repentance.  All of these mini-lessons are what teachers call the “teachable moment” whereby, what you are presently experiencing or discussing, transforms into a perfect object lesson.

“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver”. Proverbs 25:11

Since my little darling, likes to whine instead of wait, it just came to my mind to use these “w” words to demonstrate “opposites”. I told her when she whines, its because she can’t “wait”, and that makes the person (her mother) not want to give her what she’s whining about. As I was teaching this moral lesson, it suddenly dawned on me how the Israelites were whining through the desert with their murmuring and complaints. God had been faithful on numerous occasions, like bringing forth water from the Rock and raining down manna from heaven. But, because, they couldn’t wait, they demonstrated their unbelief. God gave them eventually what they wanted, but their journey was made so much longer by their wanderings and unbelief.

As I recall the story, God’s people never lacked a thing, even their shoes remained the same.

There are so many opportunities to hear His voice, now, while the many distractions and busyness have temporarily gone away. He has so many wonderful things to show us about Himself, and opportunities to share those golden nuggets, “waiting” to be discovered, as we learn to “wait” and praise.

“As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them.  Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!  They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:30-32 NLT