Your faithfulness remains from one generation to another;
you established the earth, and it abides. Psalm 119:90
Nothing is quite like the Middle School Talent Show. I sit in the audience in quiet admiration. The evening offers much to bring pleasure. The audacity of it all. Who told these young people that they could stand up in front of a crowd and offer themselves with such abandon? Clearly some one did. Some parent, some teacher, some peer looked each of these young performers in the eye and said, “You can do this…and I want to see you fly.”
They inspire me because I do not know their stories. Which one overcame stage fright just to be here? Who practiced for weeks to be able to play a particular piece all the way through without getting lost? Who had to ask three friends to sing with her before one of them said yes? How much notice did the teen have before he had to step into place for a friend who became ill? I do not know their stories, but I know something of mine. Witnessing their daring softens certain sharp edges in my outlook.
I become aware of a particular kindness in the room that is not mere sentimentality, but true generosity of heart. Some things abide. Adolescents who will reach for the stars, and adults who will invest their faith in the youth to do just that. A faithfulness that engenders faith.
Middle School Talent Shows endure. Adolescent courage endures. From one generation to another.
And when all is said and done, when the room empties and the youthful energy disperses into the night, I carry home a renewed sense of God’s faithfulness in us—from one generation to another.
copyright © Anne E. Kitch 2013
