Whispers, Worries & Bulging Suitcases

It was Sunday morning. Instead of regular Sunday school class, Justin and Jessie sat with their families in a special meeting at church. They were listening to the Coleman family.

“We are packing up our things,” said Mr. Coleman, “getting ready to move to Burundi.”

“Where in the world is that?” whispered Jessie.

Justin shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Just then, a picture flashed up on the screen. “Burundi is in Africa,” Mr. Coleman explained.

The country looked hot, dry, and miserable to Jessie. “Oh, no. That looks like an awful place! They’ll hate it there,” she whispered again.

“It’s very hot there,” Mrs. Coleman explained. “But we’re sure it’s where God wants us to go to tell the people there about Jesus.”

“Yes,” Mr. Coleman added. “We believe God is calling us to Burundi, and it’s our job to follow.”

“I’m sure glad God doesn’t want us to go somewhere like that,” Jessie commented after the meeting was over.

“Well, not yet anyway,” said her mom.

"Huh?” Jessie was going to ask what she meant, but the music began for the church service, and they went back into the big room to take their seats.

After everyone sang some worship songs, Pastor Jenkins stood up and read about the disciples leaving everything behind and following Jesus. Jessie was surprised to hear how James and John left their father sitting in the fishing boat. Jessie thought about the Colemans leaving for Africa. Suddenly, she had an alarming thought. What if that’s what Jesus meant when he said to follow him?

Jessie tried to pay attention during church. The pastor went on to talk about the Colemans following Jesus’ call. “Jesus wants us to follow him, too,” said the pastor. “You can start following him today!”

Jessie looked over at her parents. Her dad had a serious look on his face. Jessie watched as he leaned over to whisper in her mom’s ear. Then her mom nodded in agreement. Uh-oh! Jessie felt worried. “What’s going on?” she wondered.

When church was over, Jessie took her dad’s hand on the way to the car. “Daddy? Are we following Jesus?”

“So, you did listen to the pastor.” He winked at her. “Actually, Mom and I were talking about how we could do a better job of following Jesus, starting today.

“Today?!” Jessie gasped. This could only mean one thing! Jessie would hate leaving her best friend, Justin, and her cousin Emily, but she was determined to go wherever Jesus wanted her to. “I guess I better start packing,” she thought as she rode home in the car.

As soon as they got home, Jessie ran straight to her room. She pulled out her suitcase and began filling it with clothes. When she heard her baby brother, Mikey, crying, she ran into his room. He smiled when he saw her peek over the side of his crib. “Come on, Mikey, you can help me pack,” she said.

Jessie found the front baby carrier and slipped it on like she’d seen her parents do. She picked up Mikey and stuffed him into the carrier. Whoa! He was heavy! Jessie shuffled and wobbled down the hall back into her room as Mikey chortled happily. “We’ll have to pack your things, too, you know,” she told him.

Jessie added her dolls and stuffed animals to her suitcase. Soon the suitcase was bulging with stuff. Jessie sat on it, trying to make it close all the way. As she was struggling with the latch, she heard someone say her name, “Jessie!”

She turned to see her parents standing in the doorway with shocked looks on their faces. “Sweetie, what are you doing?!” asked Mom.

“I’m packing up,” she bravely replied. “I’m ready to follow Jesus. Today.”

Dad smiled. “Wow! What a great attitude, Pumpkin! But we’re not going anywhere. Except maybe down the street!”

Jessie was confused. “But, but,” she stammered, “this morning, when I said I was glad God doesn’t want us to go somewhere, Mom said not yet, like we would be going somewhere soon.”

“Oh, I just meant you never know what God might call you to do,” Mom explained as she lifted Mikey from his carrier.

“What about when I saw you two whispering during church?” asked Jessie.

Dad sat down on the bed beside Jessie. “Following Jesus doesn’t always mean moving away to a different country. It just means doing whatever God wants you to do, wherever you are—like in our own neighborhood.”

“Right,” Mom added. “We were whispering about how we need to invite our new neighbors to church.”

“So, we don’t have to go to Burumi— Burumba—well, wherever the Colemans are going?” Jessie asked.

“You mean Burundi?” Dad chuckled. “No, we don’t. We would if God called us to go. But right now, Mom and I believe God wants us to follow Jesus right here where we live.”

Jessie fell back onto the bed in relief. “Whew! I’m glad we’re not going anywhere. I would’ve been sad to leave.”

“Well, you can be sure that if God ever calls us to follow him to a different place, he will help us do the hard stuff, like saying goodbye.”

Jessie smiled. “Whew! Guess I can relax now.”

Her mom laughed and pointed to the bulging suitcase. “Don’t get too comfortable. Looks like you’ve got some unpacking to do.”

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