Sponge
Hand your child the natural sponge.
Say:
Hold the sponge in your hand.
Notice how soft it is.
Did you know that the sponge is actually an animal, not a plant?
Observe all the little holes. These are called pores.
Those holes are very important for letting water flow through, so they can get food and oxygen, and release waste.
Just as those holes are important to the sponge, sometimes it’s the silence between sounds that we need. Sometimes what we need is not to fill up our schedules and lives with more things to do. Sometimes what we desperately need is space.
When Jesus was teaching his disciples how to pray, right before teaching them the Lord’s Prayer, he had this to say –
“But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Now let’s sit in silence. Breathe in and out gently, and as you hold the sponge, quietly tell God what you need God to know. And listen for what God might have to say.
[After a few moments of silence, pray]
Prayer:
Loving God,
Help us to keep from filling each
moment with more things to do.
Help us appreciate
the quiet times and open spaces
you have made for us.
Amen.
[The sponge can now go in the box.]