Big changes ahead

This is a big week for a lot of kids: You're starting school. After a long summer, going to school again can seem like a big change! But some changes are really good -- like the one in this week's Gospel (Mark 7:31-37).

The Gospel story sounds pretty simple: Jesus does a miracle, making a man with disabilities able to hear and talk again. It doesn't take long to explain that.

Still, changes can seem really big when they're happening to you! If you're starting school again, for example, you've been to school before and know what it's like, but it's still weird to get up in the morning when you've been sleeping late. It's weird to see friends you haven't seen all summer and to have homework again.

Imagine how the guy Jesus cured felt! He'd been deaf and unable to talk his whole life -- and all of that changed in an instant. He was suddenly living a very different life.

School is very different from summer vacation, too. But that doesn't mean it's bad. Like the man in the Gospel story, you're learning to find your way around in a world that's a lot bigger than your backyard.

You'll meet new people and learn new things -- and in the end, like the man who could finally talk, you'll have a lot of things to talk about!

(9/4/03) [[In-content Ad]]