March 3rd 2016
If you, then, though you are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! – Matthew 7:11
Additional reading: Psalm 139: 1-16
The month of March is the most exciting month for Kids For Christ (KFC). Our harvest party, Christmas party, Thanksgiving dinner, Valentine dinner, and Spring Program are all something the kids look forward to; however, the birthday party held on a Thursday in March is the most anticipated event! This is the day KFC celebrates each individual child, no matter his/her actual birth date. Members of the Mill-Green UMC congregation choose a child’s name and purchase a gift for that child to unwrap on the special day! The buyer receives information about the child, such as age, gender, likes, and hobbies, and carefully purchases a gift in the hope that it is perfectly suited for him/her. The gifts arrive wrapped in bright, fancy wrapping paper or gifts bags adorned with sparkles, curling ribbon, stickers and bows. Some even have a special birthday card included. What excitement when the KFC kids arrive on that Thursday and see a table loaded with such wonderful packages! “I wonder which one is mine?” is the question most asked. Before opening the packages, the children enjoy pizza and a cupcake holding a candle. As the candles are lit, “Happy Birthday” is sung, and when it is time to insert the honoree’s name, it is a cacophony of sounds and syllables as each child sings his/her own name. What joy, as the children know this is their celebration!
As I listen to the “oohs”, “ahs” and shrieks of delight as the mysteries of the packages are revealed, I am reminded of the verse, “If you, then, though you are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:11. These children are delighted with a gift from someone who only had a small bit of information about them, yet how much deeper does God know each of us? He knows us better than we know ourselves! God knew us as we grew in our mother’s womb, as we were knit together in exactly the way God intended us to be. How perfect is His love for us, no matter what we look like, what our abilities are, or what perceived importance we have in this world! We are made just as God intended, and His desire is to bless us with good gifts as we seek to do His will.
– Louise Strozyk