9 to 11 year olds

Spent a little while with an SU group today; all aged between 9 and 11.
I am just getting to know the children.
I thought they would all be regular church attenders - they aren't.
I thought they would know a little about today's topic; prayer - they didn't.
I thought the ones who had Christian parents would know how to find a passage in the Bible - apart from one, they didn't.
I am so glad that we've made a little safe place for them to come at lunchtime.

Look forward to talking with them more about their loving Father.

Just three years ago if you had told me I'd be working with under-12s, I'd have guffawed with laughter. No, I'd have run a mile. I didn't do wee kids!

I like spotty, awkward, gangly teenagers who growl at you and look like they'd rather be anywhere else than in your classroom then end up mellowing when they realise you're (a) pleasant to them (b) pretty fair and consistent with rules and consequences and (c) actually have a life. They start to tell you about their weekends (which, in my scheme-school experience, involved turf battles, creative "menchie-ing"**, blockbooking tanning sessions and the best place for under18s to go if you want to pull)

It's been completely and utterly God at work to call me out of that and into the world of primary children.
I wonder what else the future holds?

** menchies = scrawling your name or symbol. if I were to "menchie" a desk it would say "lynn-o" or "lynn young team" and have wee arrows coming out of the final letter "n"