Friday, September 16, 2011

Well that was cool....




First deep sigh of the evening. I'll be able to have the biggest sigh when my girls return from a pajama-ed visit to Froyoz with their friend.

Tonight our church had a fun night for the fifth graders of our church. A chance to come and socialize with their friends and shepherds and parents, eat pizza and roller skate. It started out just as you would expect a middle school dance to begin: girls at one table and boys at another. They ate their pizza and discuseed events at their different schools. The boys at our table discussed how cool or uncool skating actually was and their personal skating prowess. One started sounding a bit like one of my favorite characters, Napoleon Dynamite, by announcing his skating prowess....the best in the fifth grade. Brain had fun listening to them and playing with the younger siblings running around. THEN the fun began. About a gajilon glow bracelets were thrown out on the table and the kidsattacked them like zombies jumping on a freshly crippled victim. With necklaces and bracelets assembled, they then made pom poms to tie on their skates. The boys not so much, but the girls took great pains to make theirs faboo. After a chaotic and tangled few moments of skate fitting, they were off. The boys trying their best to knock each other down and throw a light stick loop around another's head like some giant rodeo on wheels. The girls were holding hands with those who couldn't skate too well, trying to visit with those hugging the walls. When all of a sudden, one of the girls took a pretty nasty fall....nastier than the 500 others that had already occurred. Tears came quickly and it all got serious. Sarah was concerned for her "BFFE- Best Friend For Eternity" and everyone huddled around her. Eagle scout Brain came out and started working with her while others fetched ice. The dad was called and she started to calm down and smile a bit. What I saw next warmed my heart. Here where the genders had been divided only minutes before, avoiding each other not in ugly ways...just in 5 th grade ways, came together for the sake of one of their own. Every time they made the loop back around to their injured friend, boy and girl alike would ask her if she was okay. They would stop and tell her the joke they had made up for her during the last loop. The boys would have extra dramatic crashes right in front of her to make her laugh. Some would take a longer break to give her a hug or rest by her side and chat.

I don't talk about my Christianity enough. I hesitate from cowardice and the lack of what to say to people who have had negative experiences with church in the past. Or, to some mere acquaintances who are vehemently atheist and just want to argue and belittle anything I have to say, I clam up due to insecurities about my ability to defend my beliefs. Ultimately, all these excuses are hollow. I love my church, I love being a Christian and I love God. Why did I suddenly get all theological after discussing a skate party? Well, I'll tell you. Even though all these kids have known each other since birth or toddlerhood, it still needs to be stated that they are boys and girls at the age when they separate from each other. But on this night, all they saw was their sister in need. They responded as all Christians should, without question...without thought about who the person was to them 10 minutes before. They rushed to her side, giving her help and love and encouragement. They loved her through her embarrassment and showed her how we all should act. People can discount church, Christianity, God....all that stuff. But if the kindness and concern I witnessed tonight is any bit of what my children are learning from church(and I know it is), then that makes me even more grateful. God bless the fifth graders who showed me the way tonight.

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