Vacation Notes
Dear Friends,
I got to speak to a group of Kindergarten students this week about the Dream Center. Here are few takeaways I have from that morning.
- I’ve never seen better behaved kindergarten students. Seriously these 4 teachers deserve gold stars, extra Starbucks coffee and major kudos because their kids were phenomenal the whole time.
- Sometimes we big people get in the way of the simplicity and wonder of a kid’s brain. They are smart, caring, naive to the hurt of the world. They see things still through a lens of hope and wonder and opportunity. We should all sit back from time to time and just listen to the imaginations and ideas of a 5 year old.
- Santa is still VERY real when you’re 5. And I almost blew his cover.
These classes have been learning about wants vs. needs lately. The cutest quiz I’ve ever given “What’s a need?”, “What’s a want” and hearing their answers. This crew is VERY passionate about food and water and thinks clothes are big need because no one wants to show up to school naked (at this point I was sure their teachers were going to kick me out b/c I let a kid say that. Newbie over here)
I was sharing with them how the Dream Center will help meet the needs of our neighbors and that next week we have over 300 kids coming for a Christmas party. Their teachers and I were trying to get them to think of the idea of collecting toys for the party. But they were so worried about food:
Me: What are some needs kids have at the Christmas party? Let’s see if we can figure out a way to help meet that need!
Kid 1: FOOD
Me: Yes! That’s a great idea. We have friends at Crosslines that are helping us get food. What else?
Kid 2: WATER
Me: Yes! Awesome! We have lots of water at the Dream Center. What else is missing?
Kid 3: SNACKS
Me: Yes. I love food too. I think we will have lots and lots of food
This continues for a bit and I realize we are not going to get to presents. So I try helping guide them.
Me: What about in the store. We have food, and water and games what do the parents need to shop for.
Genius little girl: PRESENTS
Me: Wow! Yea! How do you think we can get presents there?
:::Dramatic Pause:::
All 40 of them : SANTA!!!!
Me: ………..
I totally forgot Santa is real to these kiddos, the magic of this season is still very much alive. I spent the next few minutes stumbling over a made up on the spot letter I got from Santa recruiting their help. The best part was how their little eyes lit up with excitement. They had a job, a mission. Someone big believed in them to do something big.
Wow.
Someone big believed in them to do something big.
I’m praying this small lesson is one that plants a seed in each of them that someone BIG believes in them, has purposed them for something big and that they never lose that ability to believe in something bigger than them that at times doesn’t make sense but never fails.
Keep the wonder alive my friends,
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