Bible Reading: Matthew 6:25-30

"Mom, I'm home!" Alyssa called as she came in after school.

"Hi, honey!" said Mom. "How was your day? Did you learn anything interesting?"

"We sure did!" said Alyssa. "Mr. Eddleman, our science teacher, poured some really hot water into two glasses. One glass had a spoon in it, and the other one didn't. The one without the spoon cracked when the hot water was poured in, but the other glass was fine. Mr. Eddleman said the metal spoon helped absorb some of the heat and kept the glass from breaking."

"Well, I hope he had the glass in the sink when it broke!" said Mom.

Alyssa laughed. "He did." Then the smile faded from her face. "Everly wasn't in school today--her family is having all kinds of problems. Her brother was in a car accident last night and had to be rushed to the hospital."

"Oh no, that's terrible!" said Mom.

"Yeah," said Alyssa. "And her dad still hasn't found a job, and her grandma is really sick--she might be dying. I don't see how they can deal with it all."

"Well, they know Jesus," said Mom. "And that makes a big difference."

Alyssa shrugged. "I feel like I would crack, like that glass in science class today."

"That science experiment is a pretty good example of how knowing Jesus helps people," said Mom.

"It is?" asked Alyssa in surprise.

Mom nodded. "Just like the hot water was poured into the glasses, we all have problems come into our lives. Sometimes it can be so overwhelming that we feel like we might crack under the pressure. But Jesus is like that spoon--He helps absorb the heat of our trials. His constant love and care keep our spirits from breaking. I really don't know how anyone can get through tough times without Him." She smiled at Alyssa. "Let's ask God to comfort and encourage Everly and her family and help them trust Him to bring them through it all."

Alyssa nodded. "Okay," she said. "But can't we do something else too? Like take them a meal or something?"

"We sure can," said Mom. "Let's start fixing one right now."

–Linda E. Knight

Bible Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21

As she sat working on her homework alone, Star didn't feel very loved. It was a holiday weekend, and all her friends had plans. Megan's parents were taking her to a waterpark. Emma was practicing tennis all weekend with her dad. Mila and her siblings were having fun playing on their new trampoline.

Star's mom was working in her home office. She didn't have a dad around or any siblings to spend time with. All she had was homework she had saved for the weekend, just to give herself something to do.

Star frowned at the paper in front her. Why had her teacher assigned her the word love to write about? She didn't know anything about love.

She picked up her phone and called Mila. She had to convince her friend to take a break from the trampoline so they could talk. "How am I supposed to write about love?" she asked. "No one loves me."

Mila snorted. "No one? What about me? And Emma and Megan?"

"That's…different." Star hadn't thought of her friends as she was considering the topic.

"What about your mom?" Mila asked. "She loves you."

Star glanced toward her mom's office. "She doesn't spend time with me."

"Because she's busy," Mila said. "She's busy because she loves you and needs to work to take care of you." She sighed. "What about God, Star? Aren't you forgetting that He loves you?"

Star twisted her hair around her finger. Maybe she had forgotten God. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like it."

"Maybe not," Mila said. "But He really does, Star. Like we learned at church, His love is bigger than any human love. Jesus died on the cross so you could live with Him forever. What love is bigger than that?"

Star nodded slowly. "You're right."

"You don't need to go on a trip or get amazing gifts in order to be loved," Mila said. "But, Star? I really am loving the new trampoline and I would like to get back to it. Since your mom is working, want me to ask my mom to give you a ride over so you can try it out?"

Star's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Really," Mila said. "Because I love you." She laughed. "Don't forget how much God loves you too, Star."

–Emily Acker

Bible Reading: Exodus 20:12-15; Ephesians 4:25-32

Alastair walked into the kitchen where his sister Stasia was doing homework. "Emerson got in trouble again," said Alastair. "I can't believe he's going to flunk math over this!"

Stasia looked up in surprise. "Over what? What did he do?"

"Mr. Hoover caught him looking at somebody's paper during a test," Alastair replied. "Emerson said he was just checking one or two answers. That's all. I think Mr. Hoover just hates Emerson, so he's making a big deal out of nothing."

"Well, if Emerson was caught cheating, what did he expect?" Stasia asked.

"It's not like he was stealing somebody's money during gym class," said Alastair, trying to make his sister understand. "Other kids in school do a lot worse stuff than what Emerson did."

Alastair turned to Mom, who was loading the dishwasher. "Can you hand me a glass, Mom? I'd like some juice."

"Sure," said Mom, and she handed him a dirty glass.

Alastair grimaced. "Yuck! I can't drink out of this. There's still dried milk in the bottom of it."

"But it's cleaner than these others that need to be washed," Mom said.

Alastair didn't say anything right away. He was pretty sure this had something to do with what they were just talking about, and he was trying to figure out what it was.

"After all," Mom continued, "if cheating is no big deal because it doesn't seem as bad as what somebody else did, then a little dried milk in a glass shouldn't be a big deal either, as long as it's not as dirty as the other glasses."

"Oh, well, I…um…" Alastair didn't know what to say.

"It can be easy for us to excuse the wrongdoing of our friends--and especially our own wrongs--because someone else did something that seems worse," Mom explained. "But it's all sin in God's eyes. After all, cheating is stealing too--it's stealing the work someone else did and claiming it as your own, which is a sin, and it hurts them just as much as if you were stealing their money."

Alastair nodded. "Sorry, Mom." He looked at the glass in his hand. "I guess I'll wait to have some juice, since all the glasses are dirty."

–Mike A. Dize