New things can be fun

School is starting, and you're excited -- and afraid. You'll be in a new grade with a new teacher, and that's scary. But you also think, "Reading is going to be even harder this year, and I didn't like it last year! What am I going to do?"

Lots of new things sound scary at first, but later, you find out they're not so bad. In this week's Gospel (Mark 7:31-37), Jesus does something that might sound scary to us, but He did it all the time: healing a person.

Some people brought a man to Jesus to be cured. The man was deaf and couldn't talk. Jesus put His fingers into the man's ears, then spat on them and touched the man's tongue, saying, "Open up!" Suddenly, the man could hear and talk! Everyone was amazed at Jesus. "He's good at everything!" they said.

When you're starting a new grade, you might think you have a lot to be scared of. New teachers, new work and coming back to school after a whole summer can sound really yucky!

Jesus probably felt like that sometimes, too. He was God, but He turned into a person, too; went around helping people; and then died before He went back to heaven. While He was here, He even had to heal people who were sick. That's scary stuff!

After you're back in school for a while, new things will start to feel old. You'll get to know everyone and remember where your classroom is -- and reading might even be easier this year!

For Jesus, helping sick people must have been scary at first. But He knew a secret: Believing you can do something helps you do it! Jesus knew He could make the man well, so the miracle worked.

You can do the same thing: Think about how much fun school will be, tell yourself you can do the work and you don't have to be scared, and you'll start to feel better. Like Jesus' miracles, new things are only scary until you try them!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me to get excited about new things, instead of scared! Amen

(09-04-97)

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