Downey Adventist Church Children’s Message
Lost at the Mall
Celene Melenciano
11 June 2022
www.downeychurch.org
Good morning boys and girls Happy Sabbath. I hope you guys are excited to hear your story today.
So today I’m going to tell you a story of something that happened to my kids and to myself a long time ago. My kids are now in their 20s. But this happened when I believe David was five, Alex was six and Elora was seven. We went to the mall, we went shopping, because we needed to get something. I don’t remember what it was because honestly, the only thing I remember from that day was the fact that I lost my kids at the mall, at the store. And as a mom, that’s not a great thing. You’re not supposed to lose your kids, you know, but that day, I was not paying attention. I was going through the things that were in the store. I was looking through them. And at one point, I didn’t realize that my three kids were not with me. Only Alex was there. But Elora and David weren’t there. My mom was with me. And I asked her Mom, have you seen that Elora and David? And she said, No, they were right here a while ago, but I don’t see them now.
So we started looking for them everywhere. I was so scared. My heart was beating so fast, because I couldn’t find my kids. I walked to the entrance of the store where it meets it goes into the mall. And I said maybe they walked out into the mall. But if I go out to the mall, and I can’t find them there, what if they’re inside the store, and I’m looking for them over there, and they’re looking for me here. And I was just so scared. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to think. But I was trying to stay calm.
Meanwhile, my mom was looking for them in the store. And Alex was getting very scared because I lost his brother and sister. After a while looking. I just said, Well, I’m gonna have to call security at the moment to see if I could find my kids. And that moment, my phone rang. And a lady said, Is this Celene? I said, Yes. Do you have my kids? And quickly she said, Yes, I have them there with me here at the main register. And I didn’t know where the main Register was. I guess she noticed that I was, you know, pretty scared because she was looking at me through the cameras of the store. And she said, I could see you through the cameras. I know where you’re standing, turn to your left and keep walking straight to the register. I am right here with your kids.
So I did just that. I went over there quickly. And I hugged my kids, I was so happy that they were okay, you know, then nothing happened to them. And the lady told me, you know, what happened was that your little boy here your son took his sister when they realize they were lost. And they came straight to me at the register. And they said we got lost. And I told him you’re not lost. Your mommy is the one that is lost, not you. And she said Do you know what can you describe her? So they described me very well. I was wearing a green t shirt with the title of the book where the wild things are. I was wearing some army print pants. I was wearing some brown sneakers. I had a ponytail. And I had green eyeliner. And they gave her all the specifics. And they told her, my mom looks like a teenager. So she looks very young. And she says she started going through the cameras and she said oh, there’s your mom, she’s looking for you. So do you know her phone number. And they gave her my phone number because I taught them you know, I always thought a good idea for them to learn my phone number in case of an emergency. And it came in very handy. They gave her my phone number as she called me.
You know, my kids were very smart. They went to somebody to help them when they needed help. You know, as you grow up, you’re gonna start seeing doing like what I just did, looking at other things now focusing on the probably some of the important stuff, kinda like God, I wasn’t focusing on my kids at that point at that store, and I lost them. And maybe you’ll be looking at other things too. You’ll grow up and start going, you know, doing things in school doing activities. Maybe you’re going to start liking more movies or some other toys or video games and as you get older, you might like boys you might like girls, and you might lose a little bit of that focus on God. But you know While we have a lifeline to him, all we have to do is pray and tell him Lord, you know, I think I’ve lost my focus on you. And I don’t know how to get back to you how to rebuild my relationship with you. And you know what, he will help you and he’ll be there with you the whole time. So don’t worry about getting lost about you know, not knowing what to do. Sometimes you just have to ask God and he will help you. I want you guys to remember always that prayer is very important, because that’s the way we communicate with him. Okay.
So let’s say a word of prayer. Let’s bow our heads. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this beautiful day and for these beautiful kids. We pray, Lord, that you stay with them and that you help them focus on important things here. Remind them that you were only a prayer away. Please do with them now. Stay with them forever, and keep them in and hold their hand as they grow up. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Thank you, boys and girls. Have a great week. We’ll see you next time.