“My friends, stand firm and don’t be shaken. Always keep busy working for the Lord. You know that everything you do for him is worthwhile” (1 Cor. 15:58, CEV¹).

Do you know your multiplication tables? We had to memorize those lists when I was in grade school (which is NOT as long ago as you think!!!). You started with the zeroes (0 x 1, 0 x 2, 0 x 3 . . . ) which was supremely easy since the answer was zero! We had to memorize all the numbers between one and twelve, multiplied by 0–12. When you reached the end to learn that 12 x 12 is 144.

What other words express what it means to show God’s love unconditionally? With a quick search in a thesaurus for the word unconditional, some other words that came up were total, unrestricted, unreserved, unobstructed, unhindered, and limitless. The word that caught my attention, though, was unqualified. Usually we think of a person who is unqualified as someone who is not equipped or untrained for a position. For example, we might think a person is unqualified for a job position because she does not have the training, skills, or experience to do that particular job. Without a background in that field, the person is unqualified.

“He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven’” (Matt. 18:2–5 NIV¹).

The longer I work with preschoolers and children, the more I realize their benefit to me in knowing God more. I often think about all the things I need to teach them to help them follow Christ when, in fact, they are teaching me! Certain things I notice about preschoolers remind me of the example of Christ.

Mary’s robe was a little lopsided, and she giggled as the sheep next to her nudged her leg. Joseph sat on a hay bale, or rather squirmed on a hay bale. Three dads stood behind Mary and Joseph, and I supposed they were the wise men. A goat stood at the side, eating the grass of our church lawn. Each year my church puts on a live Nativity on the evening of our choir’s Christmas program. Grown-ups and children portray the parts of the characters. The scene is complete with real, live animals. It makes a picture for people to stop and view for a few minutes before they step inside the church building for the choir program. Last year one of my Mission Friends was Mary, and she smiled and waved to me from the scene. Each year, there is always something that makes me think about the events of the real Christmas story. Last year, I wondered if Mary was an outgoing young woman who waved to people she knew as they passed by the stable.