My Primary moment

I won't be showing pictures or giving names to protect their privacy (they are only 6 going on 7), but I do want to share a Primary day experience. I have a little class that I teach each Sunday. I have not had my own Primary class (which includes ages 3-11) in decades but it feels good to be back again. Each Sunday with my 6 little students is a spiritual experience all its own.

Last Sunday, after we walked into our classroom, I noticed that, as usual, there were only 4 chairs set up for the 5 that came. This happens through no one's fault. The class that meets in there before us obviously had just 4 children that day. So, which is usually the case, the children in my class hurry and try to get an available chair before they are all taken. Then the ones who are left standing go to the back of the room and carry a rather heavy chair and unfold it for themselves. Each time this happens, however, I stop them in their tracks and tell them that the boys are suppose to get the girls their chairs, and that the boys need to make sure the girls are seated before finding a chair for themselves. The first time I asked this, one of the boys said, "Why do the girls always get to be first?" I explained that the boys will someday have the Priesthood and they are suppose to be protecting the girls. They all seemed very fine with this answer.

Well last Sunday they needed no reminders. And the one girl who was left without a chair waited patiently for the boys to take care of that. I had 2 boys at once going to get her chair. I was so proud of them and I told them so.

Once we were all seated, I opened my Primary bag to discover that all my lesson material and enrichment activities were missing. I gasped and they could all tell something was wrong. The room normally very chatty, went silent. I could feel their empathy. I explained what happened. One girl offered to go check the lost and found. I told her that I had either left it in the main Primary room we had just come from or I had left it at home. One of the boys offered to go check the main Primary room for me. He did and it wasn't there so I called my husband who was in another part of our building and he said he would go home real quick and see if he could find everything.

Meanwhile, I was shaking. Not because my lesson material was gone but because I had not eaten enough that morning. It was Fast Sunday and while I cannot fast because of blood sugar problems I still just try to eat minimal that day. Apparently I had not eaten enough. I had asked one of the girls to give our opening prayer. Before she did I told the class I was shaking (which was obvious anyway) and I asked the little girl giving the prayer if she would bless me that I would quit shaking so I could teach the lesson. One of the other girls said in her very soft gentle voice, "Sister Shelley I think you are shaking because you are worried about the lesson that is missing." (Little girls come to earth just knowing how to mother.) I thought that was so sweet but I knew the material was on its way.

So, in the prayer the one giving it said, "Please bless that Heavenly Father and the angels will bless Sister Shelley so she won't be shaking anymore."

After the prayer the children remained silent and they all looked up at me. They kept staring at me. It was quiet and they were being so serious and so reverent. I could tell they were worried about me and I could tell they felt the spirit. Then one girl sweetly said to me what they were all obviously thinking, "Sister Shelley are you feeling better now?" I answered that I was feeling a "little bit better" and then I reminded them of a lesson we had had the previous Sunday, that sometimes it takes awhile before prayers are answered.

The shaking did go away, Dennis found my material at home, and the lesson, "Jesus Christ Loves Me" went very well. I was just so touched by the caring concern of these little 6 year olds. I was also touched by their faith in prayer.

The little girl who gave the opening prayer also said in her prayer, "And please bless us that if we have done anything wrong this week, that we will find a little corner in the church and repent." Not sure what that was all about but I did smile to myself at the innocence of it.
However, all those little 6 year olds were very reverent.

I can hardly wait to be with them all again tomorrow.