As I roam the halls of UUCMC on a Sunday mornings, you can imagine that I see and hear all kinds of things. “Something’s wrong, must have been RE!” “ Why was food left in the classrooms?” “It was the kids!” “Who took the key to room 4, again! Surely one of the children must have it.” This all reminds me of a story I came across a while back.

The story begins with a young child named Sari. Each morning, Sari woke to find her favorite toy broken, the stairs covered in toys and all of her pets out of their crates and running loose. So, each morning Sari fixed her toys, picked up the toys on the stairs, and put the animals away. All of this took a long time, and sometimes, she didn’t have the time she needed to play. Finally, Sari decided that this had gone on long enough. Sari was going to catch whoever was making all this trouble for her. That night, Sari stayed awake until she heard noises under her bed. When she looked under her bed, she found two small elves. Sari asked the elves why they caused so much trouble for her.

“We do this for everyone to help them,” said one elf. “Help me? Making a mess doesn’t help me,” stated Sari. Then the elves disappeared, and Sari went to bed feeling angry. The next morning, Sari woke up late for school and had to run to her bus stop. Sari was rushing so fast that she dropped her science project and had to put it all back together. Then, there were toys all across the sidewalk. Sari quickly picked up the toys and ran on. When she finally got to the bus stop, her friend’s two dogs were running everywhere. Sari quickly helped her friend catch the dogs, so they could both made it back to the bus on time. As Sari rode to school, she finally understood how the elves’ trouble making had helped her. After all, practice does make perfect.

Sometimes it can feel like our youngest congregants can be very similar to these mischievous elves. Sometimes, the kids do leave the mess or grab the keys without asking an adult. Sometimes, it wasn’t them at all. Regardless, it is an opportunity for teaching and growth. For parents, these situations with our own children provide a wonderful opportunity for teaching responsibility and care for our beloved community. For other congregants these moments provide an opportunity to display patience and understanding. Each of us, big and small, is a vital part of our congregation and each of us has a responsibility to care for it and for each other.

With practice, we will all learn to help!

Yours in faith,

Michelle