Good morning…
“Miss Sue! Miss Sue!” said two eighth grade counselors-in-training in our after-school program at PAWkids. “Can we get our picture taken with you?”
I felt joy on many different levels. First, I have become enough of a regular around this special, bonding place in the Grove Park community that these kids know me by name. How cool is that? Second, the energy on Monday afternoons is electric, filled with the Holy Spirit buzzing between students and volunteers, young and old. The creative joy is powerfully palpable.
Finally, doing all different types of arts and crafts, week-after-week, we collectively embody the experience described in Barbara Brown Taylor’s Learning to Walk in the Dark. Writing about the process of drawing and coloring her own various emotions, Barbara shares: “After I worked my way through most of the dark emotions, I decided to try JOY. That word called for a bright yellow ball in the middle of my chest with golden shafts of light radiating out in every direction. I used the same pencil to draw golden beams of light shooting out of my fingers, filling in the page with solid green earth under my feet and deep blue sky around my head. Then I gave myself some company, drawing lots of little stick people standing between the earth and the sky with me, all radiating the same light so that the halos of our bodies all ran together” (p. 81).
At PAWkids each Monday afternoon from 4:00 to 6:30 pm, as we all radiate the same bright light, the halos of our bodies all run together. What JOY!
At that time Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit. He said, “I praise you, Father. You are Lord of heaven and earth. You have hidden these things from wise and educated people. But you have shown them to little children. Yes, Father. This is what you wanted to do” (Luke 10:21, NIRV).
…Sue…
P.S. Are you interested in joining us for arts and crafts regularly or choosing one week to provide a family style dinner with a few of your friends for 40 inner city kids? Please reach out to me with any questions. Might you also decide to try this JOY?
