Struttin' on Sunday ...

The little girls in my Sunday School class paraded in looking like tiny princesses. Two-year old Mary, her face lit with a smile, twirled in a circle to make the folds of her pink dress fan out. Pink ballerina slippers matched her pink dress, pink sweater, pink tights and pink hair bow.

Moments later, Jessi arrived in her ankle length white dress and pink shoes. This little gal isn't much for dressing up, but she sidled up to me and grinned, pointing to the tiny flowers decking her dress. It was a girly-girl moment, and I think the Lord was smiling at the time.

We acted out a scene from the resurrection Sunday story. Mary and her Mommy stood by the "tomb" (an empty spot under a table) and played the part of angels standing guard at the tomb. Others played the part of the women who came to anoint the body of Jesus (though I didn't explain that in detail). As we walked toward the tomb, we chanted, "We're taking perfume to the tomb..."

When we got to the table, we squatted down, looked under it and asked, in surprise, "Where is Jesus?" That's when the angels (disguised in Easter dresses) said, "He's not here... he's alive!" It all went quite well, considering the fact the long dresses kept getting tangled up between little legs. And we heard, more than once, "Wait for me! My shoe came off!"

Unlike folks who come struttin' in to church only on Easter or Christmas, these preschool children are familiar with their classroom, comfortable with church folks who love them and think the world of their preacher, whom they call, "Brudder Phip." What a blessing to see their families teach them that church is more than a once-or-twice-a-year event. Jessi and Mary, Malia and Amy love to sing, quote memory verses, and act out Bible stories.

I suppose struttin' on Sunday is okay if you're two years old with a brand new dress to wear ... and your heart is already at home in church. Just be sure your pink shoes don't come off while you're twirlin' and struttin' ...