The sunshine of the first Monday in June felt as bright and happy as Regan Nelson’s heart. At six years old, she had been counting down the days to the start of Vacation Bible School at Victory Chapel Church. This year’s theme was painted on a big banner right over the front doors: "Happy Mountain!" with a picture of Jesus smiling with his friends.

Regan skipped into the fellowship hall, her light-up sneakers blinking with every excited step. The room was decorated like the top of a grassy hill. There were fluffy white clouds hanging from the ceiling and colorful felt birds perched on the walls. Her Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Carol Alderman, greeted her with a warm hug.

"Welcome, Regan! Are you ready to climb Happy Mountain with us this week?" Mrs. Alderman asked, her eyes twinkling.

Regan nodded so hard her pigtails bounced. "We're going to learn what makes Jesus happy!" she chirped.

After a fun song with lots of jumping, all the kids gathered on a big, green rug at Mrs. Alderman’s feet.

"You are all right!" Mrs. Alderman began, opening a large picture Bible. "A long, long time ago, Jesus sat down on a mountainside with all of his friends, just like we’re sitting here. And he wanted to tell them the secrets to being truly happy. These secrets are called the Beatitudes, which is just a big word for 'happy things.' Today, we're going to learn about the very first one."

She leaned in, as if sharing a wonderful secret. "Jesus said, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'"

A little boy named Sam scrunched up his nose. "Poor? Does that mean being sad because you don't have any toys?"

Mrs. Alderman smiled. "That is a wonderful question, Sam. It sounds like that, doesn't it? But Jesus was talking about a different kind of 'poor.' The 'poor in spirit' he's talking about is actually a happy secret! Let me tell you a story."

She pulled out a felt board and placed a small felt figure of a boy on it.

"This is Leo," she said. "And Leo loved to build with blocks more than anything. At VBS, there was going to be a contest to see who could build the tallest, strongest tower. Leo wanted to win the prize all by himself. He told his friends, 'I don't need any help! I'm the best builder.'"

Mrs. Alderman placed a few blocks next to Leo, then a few more on top. "He worked all morning. He stacked and stacked, but his tower got wobbly. He tried to put one more block on top, but..." She wiggled the felt board just a little. "CRASH! The whole thing came tumbling down."

Regan and the other children gasped.

"Leo felt frustrated," Mrs. Alderman continued, turning the felt Leo's smile into a little frown. "He tried again, this time with bigger blocks on the bottom. But when he got to the top, he just couldn't reach high enough to place the last block without it all shaking again. He huffed and puffed and felt like crying."

"Finally," she said softly, "Leo looked at his pile of fallen blocks. He looked at his friends who were watching nearby, and then he looked up at the big 'Happy Mountain' banner. He thought about Jesus. He knew he couldn't do it by himself. He needed help."

"So, he took a deep breath and walked over to his friend, Chloe. 'Can you help me?' he asked quietly. 'I can't do it alone.' His teacher came over too, and together, the three of them worked as a team. Chloe held the bottom steady, Leo stacked the middle, and their teacher carefully placed the final block on top. It was the tallest, most beautiful tower in the whole room!"

Mrs. Alderman looked around at all the children's faces. "When Leo knew he couldn't do it all by himself and asked for help, that was him being 'poor in spirit.' He wasn't thinking about how great he was; he was thinking about how great the tower could be if they all worked together."

"And that," she said with a bright smile, "is what makes Jesus SO happy. He loves it when we know we need Him. When we say, 'Jesus, I can't do this by myself, I need your help,' whether it's learning to be kind, or being brave in the dark, or even building a block tower. When we know we need Him, Jesus doesn't just help us. He gives us the best prize of all: a special place in his family and in his home forever. That's what 'theirs is the kingdom of heaven' means. You get to be super close to God."

Regan thought about trying to tie her shoes all by herself and how her dad would help when she asked. She thought about how much bigger and stronger her dad was. She smiled. She was starting to understand. Being "poor in spirit" wasn't sad at all. It was the happy feeling of knowing you had someone wonderful and strong to always help you. And knowing that made Jesus happy, too.