This is a sharing from Sunny about the image above of our garden that God gave him to encourage him in his teaching Sunday school for the first time (something new to him).

In the morning of the first day as a Sunday school teacher for junior Bible quizzing at our church, I looked out the window of my bedroom and was amazed to see all my Zinnia flowers were blooming together, and formed a beautiful picture. It is like firework lighting up together in the sky. 

I felt God encourage me through this picture, that the students that I am entrusted to care for are like these flowers. Some of them are big, and some of them are small. Some of them are straight, and some of them growing at an angle. Some are asking for your attention, and some are just quietly displaying its beauty.  If I quieted down and observed carefully, even the flowers from the same species had slightly different tones and shapes. With all these diversities together, side by side, it made a beautiful picture.

These are like my students. They all have different characters. Some are quiet and some are more active. They enjoy different activities, and have different styles of learning. As a new Sunday school teacher, I was concerned if I can get all the attention of the class to sit quietly to listen to the teaching. But does God really desire all of them just to sit quietly, listen and follow instructions? Just like the flowers, the big picture of the church would not look good and natural, if I demand to have every flower to stand perfectly straight. It is the complement of different styles that creates such a beautiful picture.

As a gardener, I see my role is to support each flower to blossom the way God designed them to be. Only God can give them life from the seeds, and allow them to grow. I need patience to wait for its slow growing progress. I am just having a supportive role, to make sure they have enough sunlight, water, fertilizer and trellis support if needed. Similarly, as a teacher, I need the Holy Spirit to give me the love, patience, wisdom and strength and different resources to support each student to blossom in God’s unique plan for each of them. I need to pray that God will inspire them each directly through His words and experience. 

Thanks be to God with prayers and help from many others, I had a good first junior quizzing class yesterday. Students were so forgiving and patient with me, as I had to learn to set up and use the quizzing equipment from scratch, adapt and correct the lessons throughout the period. I believed we had a good time, and hope that the students will benefit from God’s words as much as I am encouraged by it. 

Thanks be to God for the opportunity to take part in this work to tend His ‘garden’ together.