Advent Devotional: Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 22, 2024

And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” Mark 9:36-37

Illustrated by Caeden Myers (Age 7)

When I started school back in 1984, Kindergarten was only half day. Those mornings were spent reciting nursery rhymes, singing, learning the alphabet, coloring, and lots of pretend play. About halfway through the school year, my teacher began to determine who was ready to read. One frosty winter morning, a helper named Mrs. Baker came into our classroom. She began pulling kids one by one into the hallway.  I was so excited when it was my turn. Mrs. Baker led me to a desk, and she slid a thin book with large print in front of me. Several days a week for the rest of the year, I sat in the hallway with Mrs. Baker as she helped me crack the literacy code. It felt like she was passing down a precious gift to me.

In the spring of 2023, SMPC began a partnership with Smithfield Elementary. One of their urgent needs was for tutors. I immediately felt called to be a part of this ministry. It was my turn to be “Mrs. Baker” for someone else. That first spring, I supported a first-grade classroom and worked with several kids who just needed a little extra help. The next year, I joined the Augustine Literacy Project (ALP) where I worked with a single student twice a week for 45 minutes completing structured literacy lessons. This has proved to be a wonderful fit.

One especially memorable student, Eve, was a first grader struggling to read and at risk for retention. From the start, Eve was engaged and motivated by our connection and her early success in the lessons that were tailored to her skill level. Instead of feeling behind, she began feeling confident and started seeing herself as a reader. One day after a benchmark assessment, I had planned to spend the rest of the session playing review games as a reward for all her hard work. We got about halfway through the first game when she said, “Ms. Shelby, I don’t want to play this game anymore. I don’t want to miss my learning.” She had begun to unravel the mystery of the written word and there was no time to waste! Eve gave it her all that school year and she not only graduated to the second grade, but she also graduated from ALP tutoring.

There is great power in a consistent one on one relationship between a child and a caring adult who shows up to help. Helping a child learn to read is a gift, but so is human connection. ALL children deserve to be seen for the image bearers of Christ that they are and to know they are valuable. I imagine each student I work with growing into our community’s next chef, teacher, electrician, or small business owner. We can be a voice for a child that says, “you matter.”

I still have a Christmas ornament from my Kindergarten year. It’s fitting that the ornament is a wooden block with letters of the alphabet on each side. Every Christmas, I hang it on my tree and think about the gifts that Mrs. Baker, a helper, gave me that year. The gift of her time. The gift of her undivided attention. And the gift of literacy. I didn’t know their value then. I do now and their impact has been immeasurable.

Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of children and the gift of the written word. We ask a special blessing for our neighbors at Smithfield Elementary School. We pray that every child there becomes a functional reader, feels valued, seen, and capable of doing great things. We pray for our tutors and for those who may feel called to this ministry. Amen

Shelby Ullman

If you are curious about how you can give the gift of literacy to a child, contact Kathy Graham, [email protected].

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