Kids Say the Darndest Things, Pt. 6

Last year during circle time of a 5/8 meeting, someone brought up the topic of jellyfish. I said, "You know, if you get stung by a jellyfish you're supposed to pee on it." One of the 5th graders quizzically asked, "Pee on the jellyfish?"

Love Always Protects

At 5/8 last night, one of the boys excitedly came up to me. "I did what you told me to do!" he said. At first I didn’t know what he was talking about. "I apologized." Suddenly I remembered. "I'm proud of you," I told him.

The previous week over dinner at Discipleship Group, the boys were arguing about something that had happened that day. One of them had asked out a girl he was interested in after making a bet, she said yes, another of the boys told someone, it made its way back to the girl, and she changed her answer, all in a span of about 40 minutes. Coincidentally I had planned a lesson on 1 Corinthians 13 for that night, so I used the story as an example. "Love is kind… It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking… It always protects, always trusts…." I wasn’t trying to shame or embarrass him. I just wanted all of the boys to know what the Bible says true love is, lest they think it is for their gain and/or they act in unloving ways.

I talked to the boy more after the meeting. After apologizing, he asked the young lady if she would consider going out with him again. She said she would think about it. I reminded him of 1 Corinthians 13. I could tell he felt much better about the situation, and hopefully not just because she may give him another chance, but because he honored her by attempting to make things right.