First Baptist Church of Herndon

A Sunday School Sky

Linda Soller | Jul 01, 2013

My mother and I got back from a wonderful weekend visit with my best friend and her mom down in Virginia Beach in time for me to make it to the writing group meeting. I wanted to be sure to hear our speaker, who is the daughter of a member of our congregation and a published author. She shared her story and I purchased a couple of books. It was very interesting. After she left, we had our regular meeting to critique our own writing samples. We try to keep our critiques as positive as possible, but it’s seldom fun to have someone tell you what they don’t like or what they would change about your writing. Notice that you haven’t yet been given a way to tell me what you think of my blog. You may have the opportunity one day and all I can say to that idea is yikes! Anyway, our discussion that night was a touch more serious than usual. When all was said and done we were fine and I actually felt like we showed significant improvement in our analytical skills. I felt proud that in the short time we had been together as a group we were comfortable enough to speak candidly with each other.

As I drove home from the meeting the sun was low in the sky with huge billowy clouds and streams of light coming through here and there. I was so beautiful that I found myself staring up at every stop sign and stop light on the way home just to look again at the sky. It was a Sunday school sky. I’ve always been a visual learner. When I think back to my days in Sunday school I see pictures. I see Jesus’ face so serene and kind and gentle. It didn’t bother me that his features didn’t look exactly the same in every picture. What was important was that I got the same feeling each time I looked at his picture. I also remember the beautiful sky in the pictures on the walls of my rooms. There always seemed to be bands of light coming from heaven down through the clouds illuminating the earth. It said to me as a child, “God is smiling down on you.” I had the same feeling driving home that night as I looked at the sky.

Hopefully we will never stop learning, but the new things we learn do not need to replace what we already know, at least not all the time. In our meeting we may have pushed each other a bit more than usual as we sincerely strive to be better writers. But in the midst of our critiques we were able to remain thoughtful and supportive of each other. So when I came out and saw that beautiful sky I once again felt like God was smiling down. I think he smiles when he sees his children working together, even in writing groups. I think he smiles when he sees the concern his children have for other. I think he smiles when we use restraint, when we measure our words, when we think before speaking, and when we try to improve ourselves. I think God smiles a lot more than we might imagine, at least I hope he does.

It’s important you know that you didn’t have to grow up going to church to benefit from the wonderful feeling you get when you see a Sunday school sky. God smiles on all his children and that includes you.

Have a great week :o) Linda