Hallway lessons

The simple faith of children allows them to look to Jesus for help and safelty and sing his praises.
We were still in the glow of Easter on that Wednesday afternoon in April. The teachers had been made aware that morning storms were in the forecast. When the sirens sounded at about 2 o’clock, we were thankful that a school tornado drill had been held the week before. On the way to the hallway, a first-grader’s question brought reality to the hour: “Is this a practice?” The teacher’s answer had to be “Actually, no, it’s not.”

The noise of the raging wind and pounding rain was obvious as, one by one, students protected their heads with their arms and crouched under the benches along the wall. No one could help sneaking an occasional peek out the glass doors at the end of the hall. As the storm continued, faces became sweaty and the air felt stuffy as we huddled together. Eventually, teachers and students alike began sitting up for relief. Adults began pondering what an appropriate diversion might be to take the children’s minds off the circumstances. Should we read a book? Talk about something else?

It was a second-grader next to me who cleared the air of confusion. “Would you read Scripture to us? You know, the kind that would be comforting to us in this situation?”

“Of course,” I answered, trying to convince myself that she had simply beat me to the punch.

I quickly ducked back into the classroom and grabbed a student Bible. She directed me to “Jesus Calms the Storm,” so I turned to Luke. When I looked up from the reading, tears were streaming down her face. The storm was still roaring. “Will you pray with us?” I led the students closest to me in a prayer for safety, peace, and thanks for a Savior. When I opened my eyes, a glance over my shoulder showed a group of four or five first- and second-graders sitting in a circle. They were holding hands and praying.

I’ll never know who brought the first note, but one voice and then many were singing, “Jesus Christ is Risen Today,” complete with all the hallelujahs that children and adults love to hear and sing. After the second verse, someone else began, “I know that my Redeemer lives, what comfort this sweet sentence gives.” Imagine the voices of 65 children, ages 6-14, ringing in the confines of a school hallway. As I listened and sang along in a choked-up sort of voice, I couldn’t help but think that this is a piece of heaven—a haven of joy, right here in this moment.

Eventually the storm passed, and, with hearts slightly shaken, we returned to the classrooms. Later, news reports told us that a tornado had indeed touched down less than five miles away in the middle of a field. No one was near, no property damaged. Praise God.
Author: Jane A. Schlenvogt
Volume 94, Number 11
Issue: November 2007
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