Pause for Thought: Who Will I Become?
Fulfilling our potential
by Janice Ross
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider the potential that God has placed within us.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Pause for Thought: Who Will I Become?) and the means to display them.
Assembly
- Ask the children, ‘What are some of the first signs of spring?’
Listen to a range of responses. - Ask the children, ‘What signs of spring are we likely to see on the ground?’
Listen to a range of responses. - Identify that it is now the time of year when seeds are beginning to wake up underneath the soil. As the days warm up and the daylight lasts longer, we will see little shoots pushing up into the light. At first, we will probably not recognize what they are.
Show Slide 1.
We know that in the general cycle of life, the first shoots are likely to be snowdrops or crocuses, followed later in the spring by daffodils.
We don’t expect to see tomatoes or roses yet, but we know that these shoots will grow into something beautiful. Christians believe that this beauty was created by God. The Bible says that everything that God made was good. - In time, the roots of each tiny plant will become stronger and drink up water from the ground to feed the plant. Soon after, the plant will sprout leaves and grow taller and stronger. In time, we will discover whether this shoot will become a flower, a herb, a vegetable or a tree. And whatever it becomes, it too will go on to produce seeds of its own.
- Show Slide 2.
Ask the children whether they can identify the seed in the image and what it will grow into.
Show Slide 3.
Explain that the sycamore seed grows into a sycamore tree. - Repeat the same process for the next six slides.
- Slides 4 and 5 show some crocus bulbs and some crocuses in flower.
- Slides 6 and 7 show some apple pips and an apple tree.
- Slides 8 and 9 show some snowdrop bulbs and some snowdrops in flower. - Note that, unless we are knowledgeable about seeds and bulbs, it is often difficult to tell what they will grow into. There is such a variety!
Show Slides 10 and 11.
Time for reflection
When God made the world, he showed us that he loved variety. He didn’t make every tree the same shape, every flower the same colour or every animal the same size.
God didn’t make people the same either. We can see that if we look around us!
Explain that when we are born, no one knows exactly what we will look like when we grow up. We might inherit our mum’s nose or our dad’s hair colour, but we are all unique. No one can know how tall we will be, what our voice will sound like, what toys we will enjoy or what our character will be like.
Christians believe that God made each one of us special.
Ask the children to imagine what they might be like in the future.
Many of them will have thought about what jobs they might do or what they will look like.
However, explain that what kind of person they would like to become is really important. Will they be kind, loving, helpful, honest and so on?
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that when you made us, you gave us a life to live.
Thank you that you know the potential within each of us.
Please help us to fulfil our potential.
Please help us to grow into people who care about others and who make a difference to the world.
Amen.
