God Given Talent

First of all, let’s just say a quick ‘thank ya Jesus’ that the mocha (which doesn’t even taste good) I just spilt all over my keypad didn’t horribly damage my laptop…..AMEN. In the reassembling of all the keys, I did learn that f12 is the save button! That’s a fun little trick! And it looks like f9 is the only key that lost the battle and will never work the same again.

This morning I had the immense pleasure (and I’m not even being sarcastic!) to attend the Delong Middle School Variety show. Now, I must admit that when I rolled out of bed at 7:45 –the last possible minute to make it on time for the 8am show- I was less than thrilled. During a midterm week that has been cruel, sleep is a precious commodity and I wasn’t in the mood to sacrifice it; but I’m sure glad I did!

We used to have talent shows at St. Mary’s when I was little. We won’t mention how my two best friends and four others managed to put together and act in the 6th grade that excluded me, but I do have fond memories of the days in Bell Hall where stars were born----ok, not really. But it was a BIG DEAL to us- performers or not. And this morning I got that same sense from each of the students in that auditorium.

Desaree, one of my 8th grade girls, invited me to come see her dance. It was a bonus then, that I also got to see Gaby sing the National Anthem, Lacy participate in a super cool percussion act, and Trevor do a solo in the Jazz ensemble! (And the jazz band, they played Louie, Louie-aka Pharaoh, Pharaoh!!) I was blown away by the talent at this school. It probably wasn’t anything above average, but as I watch act after act, I just realized how God blesses us each with something different. There is no one that can fill your place in the world, quite like you were meant to.

We all know that Middle School can be brutal, but this morning, I was reminded how awesome it is too! It’s the one time in our lives when we get to be super awkward. Ok, you don’t really have a choice. But if you’re lucky enough to embrace it, you can shine. Each of the students in the variety show took a risk and succeeded at something. It’s a memory they’ll always have. They’ll probably look back and laugh. But they’ll also look back with pride of their accomplishment. As I stood in the back, I found an abundance of pride welling up inside me for each of them.

And then my precious Desaree came out to dance. Pride seems like such an inadequate word for how I feel. I know Desaree has a heart for God, and as I stood in the auditorium, I could only imagine how hard it must be to share Him with her peers. She took center stage, and her song came on: “Surrender” by Barlow Girl. And she was doing it- she was sharing God with her classmates through her dance. I felt tears welling up in my eyes as she gracefully danced and shared her God given talent with us. (We had a talk about the leotard she chose to wear after. You gotta guard those young boys hearts/eyes, cause they aren’t gonna do it themselves!!) But the thing is, she certainly could have chose to booty dance (I never thought I’d see 7th graders ‘walkin’ it out!’) like some of her classmates, but instead, she picked a classy form of dance and shared a piece of her heart (a big piece!) with her peers.

I’d also like to say that DeLong MS has 5 of the sickest break dancers I’ve ever seen, and one cool Karate Kid!! And the band the teachers put together was hilarious and surprisingly good!

Afterwards, I got to hang out for a long time with Des and meet a bunch of her friends. It was a really rewarding morning. I certainly have my days that I question why God would have chosen me to serve Him in such an awesome way. But today, I just get to embrace this season in my life, and it is a GLORIOUS one!

Well…almost glorious--- I’m off to take a midterm! WooWoop! and then paper write before I can start enjoying my very last SPRING BREAK!!!