Christians R US

Published: July 27, 2020, midnight

b'An invisibility cloak\\u2014that\\u2019s what she needed. Maddie slumped in her seat at the back of the school library. She wished just such a cloak would come out of the fantasy novel she was reading. Anything to help her disappear. Ever since her classmates had found out about her dad\\u2019s illness, it seemed like everyone was staring at her with drooping, sympathetic faces.\\nOh, for the days when life was normal\\u2014when life had seemed unbearably boring: school, homework, bed, repeat. Now life was crowded with casserole- bearing visitors, home health nurses, and, often, an empty house\\u2014with all the doctor\\u2019s appointments her parents were going to.\\nShe stood up and began to browse the shelves, feeling guilty about her resentment about the situation. Especially when Dad had it the hardest. He didn\\u2019t smile the same, and he hardly ever laughed anymore. Neither did Mom. But Maddie knew they were doing their best. She had been too, until this morning.\\nMaddie returned to her table, two books in hand. A folded bundle of notebook paper was perched on top of her notebook. She picked it up and glanced around the library. Suddenly, no one was looking at her\\u2014everyone seemed engrossed in their books. She sat down and peeled the bundle of papers open. Messages in pen and pencil scrawled across the blue lines:\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153We\\u2019re praying for your dad, Maddie!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153We\\u2019re here for you, Maddie!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153God sees you, and He\\u2019s with you.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\nMaddie looked up to see her classmates gathered around, smiling. Maybe she didn\\u2019t need that invisibility cloak after all. \\u2022 Susan Holt Simpson\\n\\u2022 Have you ever wished you had an invisibility cloak? When? \\n\\u2022 Reread today\\u2019s Bible verses. Why is having community so important? Who can you reach out to when you\\u2019re struggling (for example, pastors, teachers, or counselors)? \\n\\u2022 If you have friends facing hard situations, how can you show love to them? \\nHe comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4 (CSB)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nRomans 10:1-4; Philippians 3:8-9; Hebrews 9:14-15'