Part I: Introduction and Preparation
There is no treasury more precious in our world than that which holds our children. Our children, each like a precious gem stone, were formed by that great fire and heat – the Love of the Holy Trinity. They have been placed in our midst, raw and unrefined, so that through that great dance between nature and nurture a shining soul full of God may be revealed. Our treasures, our children, are not meant for us, but were given to the human family to be God’s presence in a world that desperately needs them. We—parents, teachers, aunts, grandfathers, friends—are the hands that hold, cut, polish and set these precious stones so that God’s revelation of Love may live.
What are we to do with such a responsibility? Trust, listen, pray and act; the Holy Spirit never leaves our side and is always ready to give us the words, presence, and love needed at just the right time. With an experienced ear, one can delicately perceive the promptings from the Holy Spirit and have a hand more ready and more steady for the great forging that lies ahead. The following reflections are the fruits of many years of contemplation over how one tiny ‘gemcutter’ can help form the precious stones that God sends her way through their time in her second grade classroom.
Preparing to Form God’s Precious Stones
1. The first step is to trust. Trust that each stone, no matter how raw and unrefined they may be, is destined to pass through your hands in this place at this particular time in human history. It is God’s work that is before us and one must trust that we have something to offer, something to teach, or something to share with each soul. This is where the phrase God gives us only that which we can handle is turned on its head, for in truth, it is that God sends us those souls because it is us who need them, just as they need us. Those little stones have a way of teaching you more than you can ever teach them. They have, in their eight years of life, the aura of heaven still about them!
2. The second step is to listen. You must be diligent in listening to God and the only way to do that is to make Him first. The enemy is a master at placing ten-thousand gnats buzzing about your ears to make hearing our Lord’s voice a weary task. This is our cross as ones who want to always be in the presence of the Lord but who must live within the daily confines of the duty of the moment. When we start our day in meditation, God often makes Himself known within each duty of the moment and suddenly the gnats are no longer noticeable because Our Lord has revealed His presence through all we meet.
This listening to God’s still, small voice is a skill that can be built, much like mastering addition and subtraction, all it takes is time and practice.
Click here for Part II: Steps in Establishing A Prayer Routine for Children
Click here for Part III: In Conclusion: Working With the Holy Spirit to Form His Precious Stones
More about Michelle Estep: Michelle Estep is a member of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, a wife and a mother to one precious little stone. She has been blessed with the vocation of teaching and has been doing so for the past eight years – all in Catholic education. She finds joy in all of God’s creation, but especially enjoys witnessing the miracle of new life in the garden.