By looking at her you’d never be able to tell that Beyonca ( Bi-an-ca) struggled with her attitude.
At home she struggled.
At school she struggled.
When she went to visit friends she struggled.
Even when her mom took her out to do fun things, Beyonca struggled.
After trying all that she knew to try, Trina, Beyonca’s mother decided to take her to their neighborhood church for vacation bible school. Of course, this was out of the norm, so it aggravated Beyonca. While there Beyonca learned about the Beatitudes. Her teacher was Ms. Kelly. Ms. Kelly explained that the beatitudes were taught by Jesus. They were similar to rules and they teach us as Christians how we should behave and how to treat one another. Ms. Kelly went through each of the attitudes asking everyone in the class what each meant to them and showing them how they could apply them to the many situations life will throw at them.
Beyonca sat and listened. She refused to ask or to answer any questions. She wouldn’t participate in the craft activity either, but when it was time to move to the fellowship hall to eat dinner, she asked Ms. Kelly two questions. 1) Do the beatitudes mean that Jesus cares about how we treat people? 2) Would God forgive her if she hadn’t had the best attitude?
To both of Beyonca’s questions, Ms. Kelly answered yes. She went on to explain the love that Jesus has for us and how he spent most of his life on earth healing the sick and taking care of the poor. He is the creator of the Earth, and still, he left his throne to help others. He was mistreated in the process, but he did not allow that to change his character.
Ms. Kelly was careful to mention that a person doesn’t have to be going through something, sick or poor for us to treat them well. Beyonca seemed to understand.
Over in the fellowship hall, the two sat and talked. Ms. Kelly asked Beyonca why she struggled with her attitude. At first, she said that she didn’t know, but Ms. Kelly knew that wasn’t the truth. They talked some more and even laughed over dinner and eventually Beyonca shared that she was always the one stuck helping or taking care of her younger sister Sophia. Her mom couldn’t afford cheer camp fees or the uniforms so she could no longer cheer since her parents separated.
At school, the kids use to tease her about her clothes and her kiddie hairstyles, and of course, she had to put a stop to that. On top of all of that, her dad never calls or comes when he says he will, but he is always at the school for her new stepsisters’ events. Beyonca seemingly had a lot to be upset about, but Ms. Kelly saw this as an opportunity to teach Beyonca that life on this Earth will be full of tests, trials, and uncertainties, but how we choose to handle them is ultimately what shapes our character and effects the outcome.
She went back to the classroom and gave Beyonca a youth Bible and gave her a few verses to read. They made plans for Beyonca to start coming to Sunday school and the youth events the church has. Over the next couple of weeks, Beyonca still struggled with her attitude, but her mom noticed that she was receiving fewer calls from the teachers at school, there had been no more parent complaints and because Beyonca had realized how much helping with her younger sister helped her mom, she volunteered to help Sophia with her homework, walk her to school and even taught her about the Beatitudes. Beyonca had made up her mind to do better and the lessons that Ms. Kelly taught her helped her be consistent.
Matthew 5:3-12
Resources for teaching kids and teens about the bible:
https://www.biblewise.com/kids/char_topic/discuss-beatitudes.php