Mouse
When Miss Kangaroo’s kindergarten class played outside on the playground, sometimes she helped push her students on the swings. Miss Kangaroo had short arms, so she would rock back onto her strong tail and tap, tap, tap the swings into the air with her feet. Every recess Mouse wanted to sit on the swings. He ran straight from the door to the swings and asked Miss Kangaroo to please push him. Other students would sit beside him and when they both started to get high off the ground, the other students would laugh and laugh! Meanwhile, mouse would shut his eyes, hold tighter to the chains, and squeak, “Ok, ok, I want to come down now.”
Miss Kangaroo noticed this pattern with Mouse and one day she asked him, “Mouse, why do you want to swing every day if you know that you’ll be scared of going high up?”
“Because I hope one day I won’t be scared of going high up,” said Mouse.
“Well you won’t feel something different until we do something different, Mouse. What can we do to help you with that fear?” asked Miss Kangaroo.
“I don’t know,” said Mouse.
“Hmm,” Miss Kangaroo pulled Mouse onto her lap, “what are some other times when you have been afraid?”
“When I was in the hospital,” said Mouse.
Miss Kangaroo had forgotten that Mouse spent two months in the hospital before he ever started kindergarten.
“What did you do in the hospital when you felt afraid?”
“Sometimes I held Mommy’s hand. Sometimes I squeezed Mommy’s hand real tight. Sometimes I said a prayer with Mommy and Daddy.”
“Well Mommy isn’t here at school, but you could say a special prayer before you get on the swings.”
“I don’t remember what we said!”
“Why don’t you ask Mommy and Daddy tonight?” suggested Miss Kangaroo.
This sounded like a good idea to Mouse.
That afternoon, Mouse was on a bike ride at the park with his mommy when he remembered his question.
“Mommy, what did we say in our prayer together while I was in the hospital?”
“What made you think of that?” said Mommy, and Mouse could hear surprise in her voice.
“I’m scared of going high on the swings at school.”
“I see,” said Mommy.
They were next to a wide open field and they set their bikes down for a while. Mommy walked over to a patch of wildflowers and sat down with Mouse.
“Mouse, one time Jesus was out in a field like this and he pointed to the wildflowers. He told us that God takes care of these flowers because they’re special to him.”
“These flowers? But they look like weeds!”
“Not to God, and you see those little birds over there? They are called sparrows and God takes care of them too.”
“Wow,” said Mouse.
“Jesus says if God can take care of flowers and birds, He can definitely take care of you, Mouse. So, you don’t have to worry when you get on the swings.” Mommy picked a couple of flowers, “When you were in the hospital, that’s what your Daddy and I would pray for you, that God would see you and take care of you. I see some swings on the other side of the park. Do you want to practice going high together?”
“We can try it!” said Mouse excitedly.
Mommy gave Mouse the flowers to hold in his hand as he held the swings. They asked God to see Mouse and take care of him while he was on the swings. Then Mommy pushed mouse higher and higher.
“I’m doing it Mommy! I’m going high up!”
“I see you!” said Mommy.
The next morning when the students went out to recess, instead of running to the swings, Mouse stopped and talked to God.
“Please see me and take care of me on the swings today,” Mouse asked.
Then he noticed that right under his favorite swing, a little wildflower had grown. Mouse picked it up and held it tightly in his hand while he held the swing.
“Are you ready, Mouse?” asked Miss Kangaroo.
“Yes! I want to go way high up!” said Mouse.
Miss Kangaroo began to push Mouse on the swing and this time, when Mouse started to go high, instead of saying he wanted to stop, Mouse simply said, “He sees me Miss Kangaroo! He sees me!”
