Lessons From Sunday School

The other day, Eliana and I were discussing what she had learned in Sunday School this week. I could see from her take-home handout that she had learned about Peter's denial of Christ. She was eager to tell me the story herself, though. Here's how it went:

"Peter heard a rooster crow and that made him very, very sad. The rooster said he did not know Jesus."

I then attempted to correct this by saying that it was Peter who denied Jesus. She quickly picked up again:

"Yeah. And the rooster said, '"I forgive you, Peter.'"

Again I downplayed the rooster's role by telling her that it was Jesus who forgave Peter.

"Mom, let me tell you a cock crow story!"

At first I thought she had said, "a cockroach story," but then I realized that she was actually saying, "a cock grow story." To further illustrate her point, she motioned the rooster's growth with arms stretching far apart and then went back to her story:

"And the rooster growed REAL BIG and then he made a noise and that made Peter very, very sad and he cried."

I then asked her why that had made Peter so sad. After confirming that she had no clue other than that the noise itself was quite disturbing to Peter I went on to explain that the crowing was a reminder to Peter of what Jesus had said and of how Peter had sinned. I tried talking to her about how Peter loved Jesus and that's why the sin upset him so much. But she wasn't about to let me take over the story:

"So then Jesus said, 'Follow me, and I will show you something cool!'"

I just laughed and gave her a hug. While her comprehension of the story leaves something to be desired, it warms my heart to see the eagerness with which she longs to tell it and to hear the excitement and drama pouring out of every word. And, after all, she did manage to retain some grasp of Peter's sin and repentence, someone's forgiveness, the rewards of following Jesus, and, don't forget, a very large and disturbing rooster.