Feeding Frenzy

This was a crazy Sunday … good and exhausting! While there are quite a few stories I could tell – most of them about the antics of the kids – there was an overarching theme to the day that struck a chord with me. I’ll try to share it well. I may fail.

There is a video clip that’s been floating around since well before YouTube. It’s a fascinating look at how piranha work over their prey. Think back, you know the one. It shows a scene where all of the fish are focused on one and only one objective – get the food now.

I took BK to her Gram’s church today. (Now, let me connect the dots here or our stories may not take the same path and that would be too bad! … and while I’m at it, let me say that no children were harmed in the experience of this story. Quite the contrary, I think everyone had a very fine day!)

Our Sunday visit to church today was different. You see, the church we attended is smack dab in the middle of a community of mostly retired people. Many of them are very active, but this group of folks has quite a bit of life under its belt.

When you bring a baby into that environment, the grandma and grandpa instincts shift into high gear immediately. I’m not kidding you. I think they caught a whiff of her cute BK scent when her Gram brought her in because during and after the service, they gravitated her way. Like moths to flame … uh, ummm … like pirhanna to prey. It was amazing and I was not going to be the one to stand in the way of their baby fix. Not a chance in … wait, church story.

There was one moment that will explain this better than anything (you really needed to be there to experience it). About 5 minutes into fellowship hour, a lady I’d never seen before walked up to me…

Very Nice Lady (VNL): Ms. _____ saw the baby across the sanctuary and wants to see her.

Me: (tentatively) OK.

VNL: She has Parkinson’s and she can’t come to you.

Me: (confident now) Oh, so we need to go for a visit?  Sure!

VNL: (very happy) Thank you!

It took us 5 minutes to cross a space of about 100 feet. Every time I took a step forward, someone would step in my path to see BK. Thankfully, BK is a very happy baby and likes attention – a lot.

We spent about 10 minutes with Ms. _____ before she and her family headed to lunch. Then, we made our way back to Fellowship Hall and a host of folks who “just had” to see the baby. It’s quite possible that BK was held, kissed, hugged, touched, or complimented by about 80% of the folks there. Everyone who met us seemed lighter for their interaction with BK. They went away with a smile (and so did BK).

After church, Gram decided we needed to go for brunch. We did and you know what? The exact same thing happened again. All eyes in the room were on BK. Folks around us spent a lot of their meal just watching her eat and she put on a great show – and made a royal mess! I’m not kidding … about either of those things!

The Pastor was at brunch as well … which is acutally a very nice and unplanned segue back to the service. The sermon today was part of a tithing and commitment series. During it, the Pastor spoke about giving what was in your hands to give. He spoke about giving of time and energy and in several places he asked, “What are you holding in your hands?”

When he asked that, I was literally holding BK (who thankfully decided to sleep rather than sing with the choir). Each time he asked, I’d smile and tell myself, “Yeh, bet that’s not what me means.”

Now, many hours later, I’ve got to tell you that I still don’t think he was advocating that I tithe BK. He was, after all, speaking about the need to support the church – financially and otherwise. But I also have to tell you that there is something to sharing what I was literally holding during that sermon.

When I brought BK to church today, it was so that we could worship with her Gram. I was there for us. Turns out that we may have also been there for them. It may be that our gift to this church on this day was a willingness to freely share a bit of youth with folks who don’t see it enough … an ornery smile, a flirt, a giggle, and a blown kiss to remind everyone that life is about more than their present worries.

I think there’s a lesson here beyond this congregation and beyond this community. Youth brings vitality and energy. Age brings experience and wisdom. We need each other. There’s a lot at the table that can be shared and the benefits can be great, but it can only happen if we are willing to join in the feeding frenzy.