Survival Kit

"We did a fun thing in science today," Haneul told his mom as he packed his suitcase for a weekend with his grandparents. "We had to get into groups and decide which items we would include in our survival kit if we were taking a trip to the moon. Our teacher gave us a list of twenty things, and we had to choose eight of them for our kit.""Did everyone agree on the same items?" asked Mom. Haneul shook his head. "One boy in my group kept insisting that we take a compass. What good would that do on the moon? It doesn't have a magnetic field like Earth does. And chocolate wasn't even on the list! How could anyone survive without chocolate?"Mom laughed. "You and your chocolate." "There were a lot of foods we couldn't take, so I thought we should take vitamins," Haneul continued. "Otherwise we might not get all the stuff we need to stay healthy." He added a couple of things to his suitcase and closed it. "There! I'm done.""Did you pack pajamas?" asked Mom."Of course!" Haneul answered."Toothbrush?" Mom wanted to know."Yep," said Haneul. "Don't forget, Mom--I worked on a survival kit at school today. I'm a pro at packing now!""What about daily nutrition?" Mom asked.Haneul laughed. "I don't need to take any food with me--or vitamins. Grandma will make sure I eat well!""I was actually referring to a different kind of nutrition," Mom told him. "You need spiritual food wherever you are, and the Bible is a place to get that. The Holy Spirit uses it to nourish our hearts and remind us of Jesus's love, grace, and promises."Haneul looked at the Bible on his bedside table. "Okay. I'll take it." He picked it up, opened his suitcase, and made room for it. "But even if I didn't take it along, I'm sure Grandpa and Grandma would make sure I got spiritual food. They go to church and talk about Jesus a lot.""Yes, but it's good to read the Bible for yourself too." Mom smiled. "It probably wasn't on your list at school, but it would also be a good thing to have on the moon!" –Nance E. Keyes