It's almost 10 pm, and I am just waking up from my Sunday afternoon nap, something I seldom do! I almost missed getting my daily blog posted for the day. Tomorrow's a busy day, so perhaps I will need the extra stamina to endure, but I am grateful for the rest.
This morning I was asked to fill in for Children's Moment at church, so I was anxious about my "gig." When my children were young I headed the children's ministry at our church, so I am used to "putting on a show" so to speak. I trained my children to be my puppeteers, and together we would teach lessons to the children. The adults always seemed to enjoy the antics of Benji and Browser and other favorites as much as the youngsters did. So this became our way of life until they left the nest.
Since that time I've had to "wing it" on my own, and it's not quite the same, but I manage on occasion to muster the courage to go it alone, with the help of someone to interact from the other side of the stage. These days my "stage" is behind the piano which seems to work quite well, for the moment at least.
Growing up my mama taught the children Bible stories at the back roads, country Central Baptist Church, so naturally my talent came from my roots. I have such fond memories of Central. In those those we didn't have the financial resources to purchase props, and puppetry was not as prevalent. Those were the days of Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, the sock puppet who made children all over the world smile. It was before Kermit the frog when Jim Henson made his television debut into the hearts of millions on Sesame Street in the 1970's. Sadly, his death ended in 1990, but his legacy has lived on. And my mama's legacy since her death in 2009 continues to live on in me and her grandchildren.
My mama taught me that we didn't have to have a lot of money. Using our imaginations we could always improvise, and things would work out. So that's what I do. She was well loved and renowned, at least to me and the children who loved her stories, for using object lessons. So for this morning's children's moment I used the ordinary things from the treasures she left behind. The story was based on one of the readings, Psalms 139 and the uniqueness of each person created by God. Using the crocheted snowflakes crafted by my mother's hands and a simple gospel tract I read the story of The Little Snowflake named Glitter. Of course I have a uniqueness to my teaching style, so we ended with Prissy the puppet leading a song, "Amen Praise the Lord." Mama loved to sing as well, and although her moves were not as energetic as mine, she made singing, and dancing, an art!
Back in the day dancing was frowned upon in the Baptist Church, but no one chastised the simple swing and sway as we frolicked to beloved children's songs like "Climb, Climb Up Sunshine Mountain" or "This Little Light of Mine." Ever since my "performance" for Pastor's Appreciate Day, I promised myself I'd never "perform" in front of an audience again, but just like my mama, and as I taught my children, in the words of the Josephine Demot Robinson, a famed circus performer, "the show must go on!" So before retiring behind the piano to introduce Prissy, my puppet, who led the song, I instructed the children...and my adult helpers, the "the moves." Needless to say we were a hit, and the message of the uniqueness of each person created by God was successfully delivered.
Today I am grateful for my mama's gifts and dedication in service to our Lord. She was never embarrassed to be who she was, and I guess that's where I inherited my art of "being myself" and bringing joy to others in the ordinariness of life. My mama would be proud!
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