Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Talent Shows

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

At home he was hilarious. Bunky had practiced his rap over and again. He had a dance that went along with it. He meant for it to be funny. I am not biased when I say that he is one talented kid. But, last night as the minutes got closer to his turn on stage at the school talent show he began to have a melt down. He began to sob and declare that he was not going on stage. We reassured him and told him firmly and lovingly that he WAS going on stage.

The first time I was able to run for school office was in fourth grade. My parents helped me make posters and write my speech. Many of you who know me may laugh at this now, but left on my own I am painfully shy. I could hermit away quite easily. That first year I won. That is the only year I won. Apparently, I learned years later, I had made some promises about changing school lunch that I did not make good on. My classmates never forgave me. Most years I did not want to run. Every year my parents made me run for class office. I hated at the time. But, now in this day where am I comfortable? In front of a crowd speaking. I train people. I speak at conferences. It is what I love. All those years of speeches forced me beyond my fear. Of course my Mom always reminds me that my Senior year of High School I only lost by 2 votes.

So you can understand why I knew that Bunky needed to get on that stage. "Courage is not the absence of fear, it is doing it anyway," I told him. Boo and Lee lee had gone up first and although very nervous themselves had done great with their duet. Boo gave him a huge hug and told him he was going to do great.

Trepidaciously, he took the stage. You could see how scared he was. The crowd roared. He got through. It was not as animated at home, but it is always easier in front of the mirror. But, he did it.

The Lord has not given us a spirit of fear. Fear will come. I don't believe that it is about pretending that we are not afraid. I believe it is about getting up and remembering that what God intends for us is love and power and a sound mind. In Christ we can do it.

All three of my kids did a great job. I am proud of them. They amaze me, my kids. Oh and thanks Mom and Dad for all those speeches. Now I am doing it to my own kids...

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