When Children Beam
I will miss these 100-plus kids and their families when Free at Last closes tomorrow night!
I love the beam on a child’s face when I say what a good job he or she is doing. I love the beam on a mother’s face when I praise her child. Praise feels good to the human soul and it shines out of the face when it sinks down deep.
One morning after practice I told a mother what a phenomenal job her child was doing. Her daughter plays the part of a daughter of a wealthy slave owner. She comes to believe that slavery is wrong and reaches out with compassion to some of her father’s slaves. She plays her role with passion, humor, and emotion–quite a feat for a fourteen-year-old girl.
I could see in this mother’s face that she felt like, well, like a mother hearing her child praised. It just doesn’t get much better than that, does it?
Every day Mary Evelyn reminds the children why they are doing what they are doing when they speak loudly, slowly, and clearly and work so hard.
It goes like this:
Mary Evelyn: Let’s remember why we are doing all of this. On the count of three! One, two, three!
Cast of 107: To God Be the Glory!
And then those kids go up on stage, and they do it for God’s glory, and they have lots of fun.
They have fun off stage, too. I have been taking puppets for Mary Evelyn’s children, Clara (3) and Wesley (1). We play with them in the backseat while Mary Evelyn or her husband Nate drives us to and from practice. In the backseat with grandchildren is one of my favorite ways to travel!
As we ride, Clara interacts with the puppets as if they are really her friends. Wesley gives them hugs, kisses, and his smile that makes your heart melt.
I have taken puppets in to play practice, too. To my surprise they were a big hit with teen boys. One day two monkeys, an owl, and a black bear surprised us when they went on stage to help sing a song with part of the cast!
Look at the energy, passion, and joy of these kids!
I plan to share pictures next week. Just wait ’til you see them at the theater in their ragged slave costumes and their beautiful Southern belle suits and gowns in front of cotton fields, a Southern mansion, and Cincinnati!
Meanwhile, praise a child and watch for the beam.
Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
Proverbs 16:24
So true! There is nothing more precious than seeing the look on a child’s face when he or she feels valued, affirmed, confident and proud.