Teaching Kids to Worship with Art
Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, is almost upon us. Usually, this is a jam-packed time of year in which I remember at the last minute to frantically hard boil some eggs and then dye them with the kids. (We must make memories, after all!) This year, however, we are blessed to have our week of spring break right before Easter; so I technically have no excuses. And while dying eggs is fun and hunting for said eggs is always an anticipated adventure, I try to make them just a small part of our celebration.
Easter is, after all, not about candy or colorful eggs or fun activities. It marks the most important event in world history - world-changing on a global scale and life-changing on a personal scale. On this day, Jesus Christ conquered death by rising from the grave and ascending to Heaven to be at the right hand of the Father. "Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?" Through this superhuman act, Jesus Christ was able to do something that no one else could - save us from our sins and gift us with eternal life. How can we not be grateful for such a gift? The word grateful actually does not even scrape the surface of what we should be feeling. Awestruck, indebted, completely satisfied, undeserving, - I don't know that there is a single word to capture it.
That's why, in this week leading up to the celebration of Resurrection Sunday, I try to keep our focus on worship. This can be done in many ways - music, prayer, Bible study, etc. Because I enjoy making art so much, this week I wanted to show my children that making art can be another way of worshiping God. To set the scene, we first held a little discussion at the dining room table about Easter. I am always interested to hear what my kids' take is on all things theological. Once we had gotten our minds and hearts going in the right direction, I turned on some praise and worship music and set out the supplies. I have found that limiting the art supplies helps everyone stay focused (and also produces less of a mess). For this particular art session, the supplies included several sheets of rainbow card stock, black paint, paintbrushes, sharpies, sequins, and glue. Although I shared a few ideas with the kids about what they could do, I mostly left it up to them what they would create. The important thing, I stressed, was what we were doing while we were creating art. Who were we thinking about? How could we worship the Almighty God while we painted and drew and glued? At first, some of the kids were hesitant; but Gabi jumped right in. Sketching out a cross design, she knew immediately what she wanted to portray in her art - "Jesus Christ our Savior." Her ideas got more elaborate as she went along - flowers to represent new life in Christ, a sparkly crown to show that Christ is the King of Kings, little blue sequins to show God shedding tears in Heaven over the death of His Son. As she discussed her ideas, the other kids got inspired and began making their own art. Hosanna, my 6-year-old, joyfully sang along to "Come to the Altar" and "10,000 Reasons" as she drew Jesus with nails in His hands and His feet. Mikey reminded everyone that Jesus had come to give us life. He carefully copied down the Bible verse he had learned in school this year: "The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10
I was enjoying these moments with my children, drawing my own design and thinking about the great sacrifice our Savior made on the cross, when I saw that David was struggling. In many ways, David loves to worship God. God makes sense to his autistic mind; He revels in the close relationship he can have with our Father and memorizes Scripture like no one else. But in this moment of worshiping God through art, David could not make it work. He wanted his art to be perfect (and in his mind, it never would be.) He got bogged down in the details and could not use this experience to worship. And that's okay! The relief on his face was evident when I let him know that he did not have to continue, that he could just sing along to the music or talk about his faith without doing the art part.
What about you? Have you tried worshiping through art? Use the beauty God has created in this world He has given us, and be inspired to worship Him!
Easter is, after all, not about candy or colorful eggs or fun activities. It marks the most important event in world history - world-changing on a global scale and life-changing on a personal scale. On this day, Jesus Christ conquered death by rising from the grave and ascending to Heaven to be at the right hand of the Father. "Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?" Through this superhuman act, Jesus Christ was able to do something that no one else could - save us from our sins and gift us with eternal life. How can we not be grateful for such a gift? The word grateful actually does not even scrape the surface of what we should be feeling. Awestruck, indebted, completely satisfied, undeserving, - I don't know that there is a single word to capture it.
That's why, in this week leading up to the celebration of Resurrection Sunday, I try to keep our focus on worship. This can be done in many ways - music, prayer, Bible study, etc. Because I enjoy making art so much, this week I wanted to show my children that making art can be another way of worshiping God. To set the scene, we first held a little discussion at the dining room table about Easter. I am always interested to hear what my kids' take is on all things theological. Once we had gotten our minds and hearts going in the right direction, I turned on some praise and worship music and set out the supplies. I have found that limiting the art supplies helps everyone stay focused (and also produces less of a mess). For this particular art session, the supplies included several sheets of rainbow card stock, black paint, paintbrushes, sharpies, sequins, and glue. Although I shared a few ideas with the kids about what they could do, I mostly left it up to them what they would create. The important thing, I stressed, was what we were doing while we were creating art. Who were we thinking about? How could we worship the Almighty God while we painted and drew and glued? At first, some of the kids were hesitant; but Gabi jumped right in. Sketching out a cross design, she knew immediately what she wanted to portray in her art - "Jesus Christ our Savior." Her ideas got more elaborate as she went along - flowers to represent new life in Christ, a sparkly crown to show that Christ is the King of Kings, little blue sequins to show God shedding tears in Heaven over the death of His Son. As she discussed her ideas, the other kids got inspired and began making their own art. Hosanna, my 6-year-old, joyfully sang along to "Come to the Altar" and "10,000 Reasons" as she drew Jesus with nails in His hands and His feet. Mikey reminded everyone that Jesus had come to give us life. He carefully copied down the Bible verse he had learned in school this year: "The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10
I was enjoying these moments with my children, drawing my own design and thinking about the great sacrifice our Savior made on the cross, when I saw that David was struggling. In many ways, David loves to worship God. God makes sense to his autistic mind; He revels in the close relationship he can have with our Father and memorizes Scripture like no one else. But in this moment of worshiping God through art, David could not make it work. He wanted his art to be perfect (and in his mind, it never would be.) He got bogged down in the details and could not use this experience to worship. And that's okay! The relief on his face was evident when I let him know that he did not have to continue, that he could just sing along to the music or talk about his faith without doing the art part.
What about you? Have you tried worshiping through art? Use the beauty God has created in this world He has given us, and be inspired to worship Him!
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