The Snowman

The day after Christmas it started to snow. I had a wonderful plan for the day. My little grandson and I would wrap up, we would go outside and build a fantastic snowman together. In my mind, our collaborative snowman would stand impressively on our front porch, and greet our neighbors. All who passed by would marvel at the creativity and the size of it. Our snowman was going to look so good! But he did not turn out quite as I anticipated. The snow would not stick together. I could not form a ball that would roll and collect more snow. The carrot that we picked out for his nose made half his head fall off. My grandson wanted the snowman to have five arms, instead of two.Then he began to cry because he was too cold. My dream was shattered. But as I cuddled him in my arms, I remembered that the most important part of this day was not how the snowman turned out, or what he looked like. The important part was the time I spent with my grandson, building a relationship that will last, rather than building something that would melt over time.
It is good to dream dreams for our ministry. It is good to have wonderful plans, and to envision in our mind what our ministry might look like. But if it doesn't turn out quite the way we anticipated, we must not lose hope. We must not worry about impressing others. We must remember that our most important role is to build relationships...with children, with parents, with families...relationships that will last, and will lead them to Jesus Christ.