From My Heart...
By Jeanne Stone Helstrom
Three of my grandchildren ride the same school bus, and they live in
my neighborhood (yes, I’m blessed!). Morning and afternoon, their bus,
#29, drives on the street behind my house, so that all I have to do is
stand in my sliding glass door and we can wave at each other as the
bus goes by. It is so cute to see these little first-grade and
third-grade hands waving in the bus windows. Sometimes other kids wave
too. I love it. And I know it will make memories for my grandchildren
as they grow up. My daughter is so happy to see the bus coming along,
she named it “Sunshine!” Even her children now refer to the bus as
“Sunshine.” But now, whenever my daughter calls her little girl
“Sunshine,” she adamantly answers, “I’m not a bus!” This morning, as I
watched bus #29 go by, I got to thinking about what a wonderful thing
it would be to pray for all of those children on the bus, and other
school buses as I see them on the roads.
2 Thessalonians 1:11 says, “With this in mind, we constantly pray for
you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His
power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every good act
prompted by your faith.” Now, why wouldn’t that be an excellent prayer
to pray for those children? I wonder how many diverse backgrounds
those children are coming from…what kind of parents they have, did
they get breakfast, or do they have enough money for lunch? How many
are foster children, facing the unknown every day, how many are in
physical pain, or emotional pain? And let’s face it, children are
cruel, and they can discern whether or not a child is
“underprivileged” and will often treat them as such. I also wonder how
many children have anyone praying for them, a parent, grandparent or
Sunday School teacher? Is there a child on Bus #29 who has no one
praying for them? How sad and unfortunate. “Jesus said, ‘Let the
little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of
heaven belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will
not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter
it.’ And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them, and
blessed them.” (Mark 10:14-16).
So, I have a challenge for you…whenever you see “Sunshine” the school
bus, any school bus for that matter, pray for those children who are
passengers. Pray for their safety, their health and well-being, pray
that someone will tell them about Jesus. And the same for those you
see walking along the sidewalk or street with their backpacks, alone
or with friends, or riding their bicycles…some of them truly do look
forlorn, and may have very good cause for it. Pray for their home
life, the love of their parents, and the innocent fun of childhood.
Pray these prayers for teenagers, too ~ especially teenagers! Not all
of them are receiving the love, nurturing and teaching at home that
they need. God commanded us to pray for one another ~ this means
children too! And children “get it!” Jesus said, “I praise You Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from
the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes,
Father, for this was Your good pleasure.” (Luke 10:21).
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