It was just a simple question from an 11 year old but it made me smile and say a prayer of thanks to God. The question came earlier today while I stood at one end of what they call a soccer field. It's really just a not-so-level, not-so-clean, somewhat open area of red sand with a few blades of grass scattered here and there. More importantly, it's the place where I can always find the kids who stay at Kenneth Gardens. I spend a lot of time there, playing soccer, picking up trash or just sitting and watching them play. Today we were having foot races across the field and then, as the sun was going down, we just stood and talked. A group of the kids started asking me a barrage of random questions which I love because they are all genuine, though seemingly unrelated questions which only a kid under the age of 12 is capable of dreaming up. They asked me all sorts of things ranging from, "If you have kids someday, will you hit them?" to "Who is your best friend?" I was having fun fielding all of their questions and doing my best to answer them. These kids always make me laugh, and I genuinely enjoy spending time with them. After awhile one of the little girls, named Spha, very sincerely asked, "Ben, why is it that whenever we ask you a question you bring God into it?" Just hearing that question made me so thankful because, in some ways, it is an answer to my prayers.

I decided awhile ago that my desire is not necessarily to start a Bible study or add another Bible lesson to the week, but rather to teach the Truth to everyone I encounter, wherever I encounter them. I want these kids to see that God's Word is relevant on the soccer field, in their school, in their home and on the streets. I have been given a unique opportunity to walk with them in all of those places and to answer the questions that come to their minds in those times. I have just been praying for the wisdom to know how to bring God's Truth into each scenario and each question. I have found it to be personally motivating for me because I know that I need to get into God's Word and apply what I read to my own life. That is the only way I can learn to filter every experience through a Biblical worldview. It is a greater challenge than simply telling a Bible story and sending the kids home, and sometimes I wonder, are they really hearing what I'm saying? Are they actually learning anything from me? But Spha's question encouraged me that, yes, they really do notice that I'm not just giving them my opinion. I'm sharing God's Truth, and He promises that His Word won't return to Him void, without accomplishing what He desires.

So my prayer is simply this: that God would enable me to see Him in every circumstance that I face and apply the Truth of His Word to every decision I make, and that I would have the wisdom to be able to teach others to do the same.

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." ~Deuteronomy 6