Ready for Showers

Everleigh excitedly told her church group about her trip to England. "The funniest thing was that most people carried umbrellas everywhere--even on sunny days! That seemed really odd to us."Mr. Hunt nodded. "I remember how much it rained when I visited England several years ago. Did you take your umbrella everywhere too?"Everleigh giggled. "Not at first, but one day I got really wet. After that, I usually took one along. It rains a lot in the area where we were--even when it looks like it won't.""You learned that it pays to be prepared, so you carried your umbrella." Mr. Hunt glanced around the class. "How many of you are prepared to go out today? Are you ready for a shower?""It's not supposed to rain today," said Peter."I wasn't thinking of rain," said Mr. Hunt. "I was wondering how many of us are prepared to talk with people.""What do you mean?" asked Everleigh. "We talk with people every day. What are we supposed to do to be prepared for that?""You never know when one of them might shower you with questions," said Mr. Hunt. "Will you be ready with answers?""But how can we have an answer ready when we don't know what the question will be?" asked Everleigh.Mr. Hunt picked up his Bible. "The questions will be a surprise, but the answers are here in this book. The trick is to keep them handy.""You mean we should carry our Bibles everywhere in case we get asked a bunch of questions?" Peter asked in disbelief."That's not a bad idea--and in fact, many of us do that already," Mr. Hunt said, holding up his phone. "But we also need to carry God's Word in our minds and hearts. As you learn more about Jesus by reading your Bible and going to church, He will help you grow in your understanding of who He is and what He did to save you. Then when others ask about your faith, you'll be able to tell them about Him. Memorizing verses can help you share the truth of God's Word with people too. You never know when you might get showered with questions, but with God's help, you can always have an answer ready." – Heather Tekavec