Summary: Toby stretched, yawned, and turned off the alarm. For several minutes he argued with himself. One voice in his thoughts said, Get up. It's time for Sunday school. Another voice said, Why not skip it? Your folks don't go. Sleep a little longer. In the end, the wrong voice won. "I'll never be missed," Toby mumbled as he pulled the blanket over his head. "Those guys don't care if I come or not." At recess the next day, Toby tripped over a stump and broke a toe. "Oh-h-h!" he moaned as the doctor checked it out. "It hurts so bad!" Dr. Bradford nodded. "It will hurt for a while," he said, "but it will heal just fine. Give it time." When Toby went to the mall with his mother on Saturday, he saw his Sunday school teacher there. While Toby's mom paid for the things she was buying, Toby and Mr. Burns talked. "I see you're limping. Did you hurt your foot?" asked Mr. Burns. "Is that why you weren't in Sunday school last week?" "I broke my toe on Monday," Toby answered. "I didn't come Sunday because . . . well . . . I just figured I wouldn't be missed anyway." "Oh, you were missed," said Mr. Burns. "The kids wondered if you were sick. They prayed for you." "Really?"Toby asked. "Really," Mr. Burns replied. "When you're absent, there's a big gap in our class." He pointed to Toby's foot. "Your toe isn't very big, but when you broke it, did it just bother that one toe or did it affect your whole body?" "For a couple of days, I couldn't do much at all," Toby said. He laughed. "Dad said I acted like I broke my back." "So it affected your whole body," said Mr. Burns with a smile. "It's like that with Christians, too. Each one is important, even those who may think they're the little toe. When one member hurts, we all hurt." He patted Toby's arm. "You are important to our class, Toby. Don't ever forget that." Toby grinned. "I won't, Mr. Burns," he said. "My toe won't let me. For a while, every step I take will remind me. See you tomorrow morning." How About You? Do you know someone who feels unimportant and needs encouragement? Each Christian is a member of the body of Christ and should share others' joys and sorrows. Let them know when you have something you'd like them to pray about, and ask if there's something they'd like you to pray about, too--and then be sure to do that. Be glad when good things happen to others, and share your happy experiences as well. Today's Key Verse: Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15) Today's Key Thought: Share joys and sorrows
