Object: A picture of myself when I was four years old and my first grade report card.

Lesson: School; understanding; confession; compassion; revelation; unconditional love.

About twenty children have come forward at my invitation to sit on the chancel steps. I begin by asking, "Is anyone here this morning four years old?"

Brenda hesitatingly raises her hand. I acknowledge her response with a smile and direct my next comment to her. "I've got a surprise for you: I was four once! And I can prove it! I've brought a picture this morning which I'll ask Brenda to pass around so you can all take a closer look at it. It's a picture of me when I was four years old." As I pass the picture to Brenda, I recall how difficult it was for me as a child to imagine that adults had ever been children too; pictures always helped.

"After that picture was taken," I continue, "I naturally kept getting older. After a couple of years, guess what happened?" This question is greeted with puzzled expressions, so I answer. "I went to school! How many of you are in school?" With this query, about half of the children raise their hands.

"Well, one of the things that happens in school is that every so often you get a grade card, don't you?" Several children nod their affirmation; some of them roll their eyes as an expression of their distaste for grade reports. "I was thinking about that this morning because I know grades are coming up soon for those of you who are in school.

So, I brought something else to show you this morning: a very, very old grade card -- mine, from the first grade. Let's see ... The date on the front is February 2, 1953. Wow! I must have gone to school with the dinosaurs!" Many of the children laugh at this and shake their heads in disagreement.

"You don't think I'm quite that old?" I ask them. Their heads shake "no" again. "Well, thank you." I proceed to open up the report card and show them the inside where all the grades are recorded. They notice the teacher has written an extensive commentary as well.

"I'm just going to read one paragraph of this to you," I tell them. "Kathy has shown much improvement. She works well with our group. She's trying hard to develop good listening habits. Sometimes Kathy needs my help in seeing that she is an attentive listener when someone else is talking."

I stop reading and ask the children, "Do any of you ever have that problem?" My question elicits their grins; after all, who hasn't been caught talking in class at one time or another?

"Well, the point of this discussion," I continue, "is that, believe it or not, your parents were children once. Now, because your parents used to be children, they used to be in school, and they had problems from time to time just like you do. That's why most of the time when you have some sort of trouble they are able to understand -- because they remember how it was for them.

"Well, for you, whether you are struggling with homework or even if you have gotten in trouble for doing something you really shouldn't have (like not listening when someone else is talking), it's important for you to be able to talk with your parents about it and know that they will probably understand how you feel. They'll even understand if you have difficulty telling them about your problem, because they remember how hard it was sometimes for them to tell their parents about things.

"There's someone else who understands too -- God. God came down to earth in Jesus Christ. Jesus was born, had parents, and was a little child at one time, just like all of you. So God knows how we feel when we're in trouble or when we're struggling with something that seems too difficult.

"God always understands, and most of the time, your parents will understand your struggles and your troubles too. And no matter what, God and your parents always love you."