Background

The Sunday School class I teach is made up of three-, four-, and five-year-olds (pre-kindergarten), and at the time this story began I had been teaching them for about seven months, having taken over from a much-loved, highly-respected teacher of many years who simply needed a break.

The 3-to-5-year range is a period of much growth and change and, as might be expected, the older kids can be very different from the younger ones. The way we teach is fairly similar to the Montessori school method, with a strong emphasis on sensory activities, teachable moments, and setting up the room to teach rather than using a structured classroom-style approach.

During my months of teaching I had recruited a helper for the  class, for one reason because her grandson was in that age group and was somewhat timid about separation from his family; but more importantly, I actually did need help with the class. From having had just one child in regular attendance at the beginning of the year, the class had mushroomed to having 7-8 frequently, and at that age it is important to have more than one adult present.

Things had gone well with Rani's help. Each Sunday we had times of Learning through Play, a short Circle Time (Group Time or Story Time, if you prefer), a snack time all together, and then some more free play activities. Bible thoughts, Bible truths, and Bible stories are woven appropriately into all of the interaction with the children, while they are at play. Usually we would take the children as a group to the restroom across the hall and to wash hands before our snack time, but because of the class's wide age range, that pattern had become more flexible through the months.

In March, Rani had let me know that she and her grandson would not be in attendance on a certain Sunday because of a family function. I hadn't hurried to find a replacement, since my older-teenage son had usually helped me out in the past.  But when the day drew near and I mentioned the date to him, he balked a bit; he had become more interested in his own class and didn't want to miss a week of their Bible study.

(I wish I could remember what it was about! Wouldn't most Sunday School teachers of young adults want to know which topics are that interesting to their students?)

So, on the day before Rani's absence, I Facebooked the young woman who was listed as the regular Substitute Teacher, to see whether she could help out - and I reassured her that I would probably be okay, in case she couldn't. (Our classroom is directly across from the Sunday School office, and several people there could help me find someone if needed.) She messaged me back that either she or her young teenage daughter would fill in; her husband's grandfather had had a stroke that very morning, they were with extended family at the hospital at that time, and his situation seemed quite precarious.

I hastily messaged her again to let her know that in their uncertain circumstances I would not want them to go out of their way even a tiny bit to assist me. They needed to be with family and I would be able to recruit some other help if I found that I did in fact need it.

I really had no idea what lay ahead.