Death Through a Child's Eye

Following the death of a guy from my confirmation class, the church received a memorial donation in his memory earmarked for Sunday School. Wanting to illustrate the importance of thanking people for contributions, I told the Sunday School students about the money we had received. While initially hesitant to bring up the topic of death with a class that includes three year-olds through high school students, I decided to be open and honest with them about the death of Matt, who was only 38, way too young in my mind to have to commend into God's hands.. 

Surprisingly the topic did not freak out any of the students. Rather, the kids shared stories of different people close to them who had died, including siblings, uncles and grandparents. A couple of the kids remembered seeing me sit with Matt's mother for part of worship the previous weekend. When I asked the kids if they would be willing to make thank you cards to send to Matt's family for the memorial money, they all quickly scrambled over to the table to design their own cards.

Without any prompting on my part, the kids incorporated into their card creations both appreciation for the gift but also words of consolation for the mother. The youngest of the group, a kindergartner wanted help with writing on the front of his card. At the top of the front of the card he put his name and wrote "Dear Nikki." He started writing "sorry that your son" before running out of space on the front. However, he finished his thought on the inside of the card with a drawing of Matt buried in the ground, with several people standing nearby crying. 

He then devoted his attention to the back, where he grabbed a yellow crayon and drew a person in the sky. He turned to me to explain that just like Jesus had risen from the grave, Matt had risen from the grave and was now an angel. The yellow outline of Matt with wings displayed Matt's heavenly glow. I choked back tears as this youngster perfectly conveyed his understanding and belief in the resurrection and Jesus' promise of eternal life.

The kids' response and reaction to Matt's death greatly differed from that of the adults in the congregation. So many of the adults wanted to know how Matt died but at the same time felt incompetent when it came to sharing their condolences with the family. More than once I heard questions and comments about what was perceived as the unfairness of a child dying before his or her parents. Underneath, one could sense a subtle questioning of why God would allow this type of suffering.

For the kids, they instinctively wanted to acknowledge the pain Matt's family felt and offer words of support and love. However, instead of asking the questions of why or stumbling over what to say, they shared their trust in God's promise that death will never have the final say. The youngsters got that death is part of reality and something we cannot control. However, they saw past the supposed finality of death and could joyfully look to the resurrection. For them, Jesus' death and resurrection granted them hope and comfort that God's love will overcome everything and that someday we will all be able to join Jesus in heaven. The faith of my Sunday School students humbled me and brought me to both my knees and tears. 

I only hope that I can share in their child-like faith. In the less than hour of time I had with them during Sunday School, they taught me how to face death. They discussed how they miss the people they loved who died, but how all those people are now angels with Jesus in heaven. The experience reminded me that we can learn much from our littlest ones and the importance of sharing faith with each other.