53 children, ages 5-13, were crowded into the Choir Room - a room with a high ceiling...tile floor...60 metal chairs...106 feet and 50+ voices - lined up and waiting to enter the sanctuary and enjoy the Lessons & Carols service. Ideally, our stay in this room would have lasted for the planned 15-minute prelude, but instead, it stretched into 45-minutes!
Again this year, the lot of Lessons & Carols Drill Sergeant fell to me, and one little guy mistakenly assumed that some sort of power or authority came with the job. "I need to talk to HER," he demanded. In answer to his request, his teacher escorted him to me.
He came with a look of dire distress...furrowed brow and big brown eyes full of angst. His tone was somewhat deferential, but a tad scolding as well. He was animated as he expressed, "I didn't come here to be...well...this noise!...I didn't come here...I thought I was coming here to sing and I didn't come to wait for all this long time and I didn't come here for all this noise! I came here to sing." He was beyond pitiful. (photo by Jeff Meyers)
I wish there was a way to communicate in writing, his pleading little voice, full of longing to be free from the chaos! I assured him he only had to tolerate about 2 more minutes and then we'd be ready to go! It was a precious moment and the highlight of my evening.
The cool thing for me, is that everytime I interact with these church children, even if it's filling a role I'd rather not be filling, one of them inevitably brings me an unexpected moment of delight.
2 comments:
So sweet. Glad you could reassure him. It was a long wait, and I am sure it was not fun to be in that room! Thanks for serving.
Oh my goodness, that is so cute and funny! I can relate to the desire to be free of excess chaos and noise. Glad you and the young man both made it through the evening.
Post a Comment