Loving the Little Rascal

      So I have been working with Cubbies at a church that is about 5 minutes away. We have about 40 kids coming and among these kids is one particular kid named James. Now James is a big problem child at Cubbies since he gets up during story time and runs around the room in a way that is both distracting and dangerous to both himself and others. It usually takes a couple of us to corral him and then for one of us to catch him and hold him during story time. 

      Anyway this kid really has made it clear that he does not want to be at Cubbies and he just wants to go home. I feel for him.

     I got told once to not feel bad for him when he was not listening. I can't help feeling badly for kids who are misbehaving. Especially ones who people do not seem to be showing love to or trying to understand what's going on at home. What does or does not go on at home will affect how they act in public.

     I want this kid to know what it is to love Jesus and what Jesus' love looks like but it's so hard when they don't seem to want it or care. (Maybe this is a little picture of how we look to God a lot of times.)

     How do we reach a child who does not want to be reached? You can't and forcing him to sit and listen might be helping him to close his ears more and more to what God says in His word. It's doing more harm than good. 

     On the other hand it isn't my choice that this kid has to be there at Cubbies. It's his parents choice to enroll him. So I have been wracking my brain as to how to get this kid more engaged. I think he's just a really active kid and so he needs to move around so making him sit isn't helping him to learn. I try to give him things to play with during the story time and ask him questions to try and get him to listen. He behaves a little better since he's getting individual attention but its not like we have a real choice in that since he has to be strapped to you during the story time. At least it's something.