Dear Church community, dear friends, the grandparents' package arrived on time. Excited, the children unwrap a big object. A long flat wooden block, in the middle erected a mast with three cross beams. It is not sails attached to it, but small tin buckets and colorful bags, 24 in number. A ship, fully loaded! Now the children have also discovered the map. "Dear grandchildren," the grandmother writes, "now you are already older. That's why your advent calendar looks different than usual this time. Every day you will find a word that God wants to tell you. It's the best we have. That is what we want to give you. Because we love you. Now don't make long faces. There's still a little thing that comes with it, something sweet, a toy or a bit of money. And beware: Take turns nicely!" Every morning the children run to their Advent ship. Tear up paper. Unpack chewing gum, a tiny flashlight, a doll. And a note with a saying. It is sometimes read in the evening or the next day. And quickly forgotten again. But it also happens that the words immediately touch the young reader. "Listen, Mum," he says, "what's here. God says to you, "You are wonderfully made! Don’t you agree?" There comes a ship, loaded. The love of the grandparents can be grasped with hands. The children also understand that Grandma and Grandpa want to pass on to them what is important to them. God's Word. Food for the soul. The children do not always like adult food. But sometimes
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