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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me accept the things that can't be put on a calendar, and follow my schedule for the things that can! Amen.

"At the end of the world, the sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will fall from the sky," said Jesus. "Then I'll come back and gather all the good people in the world. When a tree grows leaves, you know summer is coming. When you see the signs I talked about, know that God is coming."

Most kids like to know what's coming up next in their day. Surprises can be fun, but if you never knew what was happening next, that would stress you out! You'd always be tense and nervous, not knowing how to prepare for whatever was about to happen.

Kids aren't the only ones who want a schedule so they know what's coming up. In this week's Gospel (Mark 13:24-32), Jesus talks about the end of the world -- the biggest thing that could ever happen -- and everyone's first question is, "How will we know it's coming?" They all want to be prepared!

Not everything that happens in the course of a day can be written on a calendar. Your schedule doesn't include, "Winter is coming," for example, but you know that's true because you see the trees changing color and losing their leaves, and you feel it getting colder. So, you prepare for winter, getting out your warmer clothes.

It's the same way with the end of the world. People might have gotten stressed out because they thought they couldn't prepare for it, but Jesus reassured them. He said that, when the time was coming, the sun and moon would turn dark and stars would fall. There's no mistaking big changes like that!

People of all ages want to know what's coming next. Jesus said not to worry: If it's important, you'll know![[In-content Ad]]

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