When our family got our first television, I was eight years old. I remember sitting in front of it on the floor with my “mouse ears” on and singing M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. How entertaining! Ed Sullivan, Red Skelton, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Sky King (and his daughter Penny), the Lone Ranger, Rin Tin Tin and so many others. It was family entertainment with laughter, no remote, and no parental control buttons. The times were quite different.

Something else was quite different from families and times now, the interconnectedness of church, school, and family. The principles you learned in Sunday School, you also heard as “rules” in school, and our family reinforced them: respect for others, the Golden Rule. Adults were the final say. If you were unruly in Sunday School or at school, your parents followed through when you came home. One entity backed up the other.

Even though times are quite different now with some children feeling entitled, some parents afraid to “parent,” and church and Sunday School an afterthought for many households; there is something that stays firm. Regardless of the times or the technological advancements from black and white television to world wide access at your fingertips, God loves you unconditionally. His love transcends whether or not you attend Sunday School. He is there even if your smart phone battery is running low, whether or not you behave in school. (Or even if you are a grown-up who has become grumpy and a grouch or worse, the neighborhood bully.)

God may not be pleased. He may hone your rough edges, but His love is constant. Don’t change the channel! Keep it as simple and flawless as George and Gracie. Stick with Him. Seek Him. His unconditional love is your best source in this ever-changing, fast-paced world.

Jill