Couldn't Help Noticing

An answer to prayer

I found part of a poem about God's providential grace in the book Ten Girls who Changed the World (reviewed here).

Irene Howat introduces the poem by explaining that “as a little brown-eyed Irish girl”, Amy Carmichael had “prayed that God would make her eyes blue”. The poem continues:

So she prayed for two blue eyes,
Said ‘Goodnight’,
Went to sleep in deep content
And delight.
Woke up early, climbed a chair
By a mirror. Where, O where
Could the blue eyes be? Not there;
Jesus hadn't answered.

Hadn't answered her at all;
Never more
Could she pray; her eyes were brown
As before.
Did a little soft wind blow?
Came a whisper soft and low,
‘Jesus answered. He said, No;
Isn't No an answer?’

Howat goes on to explain that in India, where everyone's eyes were brown, she was able to fit in better because God's answer was ‘no’. Dunno if that's true or not, but it's a nice thought.

Sunday school for Aussie atheists?

I can think of very little that better highlights the difference between the USA and Australia in terms of culture and Christianity than this opening paragraph from Al Mohler's blog:

Incongruous as it sounds, atheists are now organizing Sunday Schools. TIME magazine reports that many non-believing parents are concerned that their children are not adequately grounded in secular thought and feel left out of experiences like Sunday School that are common among their friends.

I don't think many Australian parents feel that they have to buttress their children against an engulfing and prevailing Christian culture. Nor have I met many Australian kids who feel they are really missing out by not going to Sunday School (though they are, of course). Instead, most of them would probably say, “Oh, is there a church in my area? I didn't realize people still go to church.”

No doubt there are parts of the United States where the Australian experience is more what the pastor and his congregation deals with (though, perhaps not in Dr Mohler's part of the country). But I can't imagine secular Sunday Schools springing up in even Australia's most ‘Bible-belt’ regions.