The Lesson From Star Stickers
By Lexi Cole
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
The “teacher-ness” in me was going crazy! Studying abroad meant not being in a classroom for three whole months, but then I had the opportunity to sign up to help at Christmas Rock, a children’s event at my church. I was the group leader for the “star” group. We were encouraged to find creative ways to connect with our kids, so I made large stars stickers for my shirt, one for my hair and 36 stars for my group – traced with a sharpie, different shades of yellow and cut out perfectly. It took a lot of time but I knew my group would look so cute with their homemade star stickers.By Lexi Cole
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
That morning, I suddenly got changed to the “carol singers” group due to last-minute cancellations. I’m embarrassed by how devastated I was. I gave my stickers to the new leaders and my heart sank as they said, “We might fit them in.” I was so deflated - - all that work and time for nothing. Immediately after thinking that, I felt guilt. Why should that matter? It wasn’t about the stars, it was about children hearing the Christmas story in an exciting and relevant way. The circumstance made me sad…and the guilt of my response didn’t help.
I think we’ve all had that…that “moment after” where we are shocked by a thought, reaction or emotion we have. We want to be Christ-like but aren’t sure how after we’ve produced the thought or felt something un-Christ-like. Jason Stonehouse, my college church pastor, recently said, “Don’t focus on the guilt associated with the specific emotion. That’s not the problem; but rather, the emotion is an outcome of an attitude, which reveals our true heart condition and mindset.” I realized my attitude and mindset were selfish. Yes, I made those stars for the kids but, honestly, it was also a prideful heart condition on my part.
The awesome thing is that our heart condition and mindset are changeable through Christ. By allowing Him to change these, our attitude and behavior automatically shifts. Psalm 19:14 above shows this because the psalmist’s desire is not just for the behavior to be pleasing to God, but also the heart’s attitude. This is my prayer for us, that we would allow the Holy Spirit to transform our heart condition and attitude. It’s not a one-time thing, but a daily decision.
I had a blast with my carol-singing group, and I’m thankful the Holy Spirit reminded me to focus more on addressing my heart condition and attitude of pride, rather than my emotion of guilt….star stickers or none!
GOING DEEPER:
1. What attitude is God showing you needs to be changed in your life? What are some ways to change that?
2. What can you do in advance to prepare your heart and mind for the sudden “upsets” you’re sure to encounter at some point this Christmas season?
FURTHER READING:
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Lexi is an Elementary Education major at Bethel University, currently studying abroad in Scotland. The last two summers, she’s been the Children’s Ministries intern at Oakwood.
