By Kiera Rich – KRich13@bellsouth.net
Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a “Read Across America” celebration at a local elementary school. The celebration had a Dr. Seuss theme, so of course I had to be involved. Our instructions were to come prepared to read our favorite Dr. Seuss story. As I was driving to the school, I was a little nervous. Although my story was thoroughly prepared — even nearly memorized, I still didn’t know what to expect.
It was a carnival-like atmosphere. Every adult in the school was wearing a Dr. Seuss/”Cat in the Hat” hat — even the community’s policemen who came to read wearing their bullet-proof vests and holstered guns. There were three or four young adults from a semi-pro soccer team. There were retired teachers and veterans and moms and dads. It was amazing to see such a diverse group of people; but, what I loved the most was this feeling in the air that although we came from different backgrounds and professions, we were all there to do something for the greater good.
I had a blast. I got my very own Dr. Seuss hat and loved seeing the excitement in the kids eyes as they enthusiastically devoured every word of “What Was I Scared Of?” and “Too Many Daves.” I went home feeling like I had spent a few hours making an extremely wise investment in the future.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed reading to the kids, the best part was after the story when I asked them if they thought Dr. Seuss was trying to teach us a lesson through the words and spooky pictures of “What Was I Scared Of?” The kids picked up a wide variety of lessons through the story. “Don’t pick snide at night.” “Take an adult fishing with you.” ”Grinich Spinach is bad for you.” My favorite lesson though was offered by a shy little boy in a striped shirt. “It’s good to have friends who are different than you are,” he whispered.
Although I wanted to cheer when the little boy said those words, I was also sad. As a second grader, he understood the greater meaning of the story, but I had to wonder if he would feel the same way in five years. I hope he will. I hope by then the shy little boy won’t have been herded together with a lot of other boys who are just like he is. I hope that in five years or ten or fifteen, the little boy in the striped shirt will have a friend who is different.
This week I also had the opportunity to meet with my Bible study friend and go through more of the book “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller. This week’s chapter wasn’t one of those that had me tossing and turning half the night feeling alternately like an insightful genius and a bumbling idiot. It was actually pretty straight-forward; but, even in its simplicity the message was a bit haunting and made me more than a bit uncomfortable.
It asked if Christians are prejudiced people. Before you jump to defend yourself, think about it. How comfortable are you around people who are different from you? Would you rather your kids hang out with their church friends or some kids from school that don’t have a faith-based family? Given the opportunity, would you rather have a discussion about spiritual things with a Christian or non-Christian friend? What choices and decisions do you make on a daily basis that serve to isolate you from the world? Do you spend your life planted firmly in your safe little holy-huddle?
I’ve been extremely guilty of the “holy-huddle” syndrome in the past. There have been times when my life has been totally consumed with church involvement and this is the time of the year when it would happen. I would spend hours and hours and even entire days at church preparing for our annual Easter drama. It was a nerve-wracking time. I would get exhausted and stressed out to the point of breaking but I just kept telling myself it was worth it. It was an outreach for our church. The whole community was invited. We occasionally had non-Christians in the cast but not very often. Usually, it was the same old group of my committed, Christian friends. Looking back now, I have to wonder…who were we really ministering to?
We always did comment cards in the program — asking people what they thought of the show and what we could do to improve. I wish now that I had followed up with some of those people. I wish I would have gotten to know even one of them and had the courage to have a friend who was different than me. I wish I would have learned the lesson Dr. Seuss taught all those years ago. “It’s good to have friends who are different than you are.”
1 Comment
March 27, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Here’s to that little boy in the striped shirt and I do beleive that once those seeds of compassion are planted that even if they lay dormant that they can and often do sprout in our lives. Thanks for reading and letting him give words to his insights.