Earthquakes and Children and Character
During the week, I got an email from Hollywood Presbyterian asking for Summertime Sunday School Teachers, while the regular teachers are out on vacation. I gave it some thought.
I really don't have alot of experience with children. Dogs and Cats and Birds , I know alot about as I have always been an Animal-Parent. I prefer to always have a Pet. And though I have heard Pets are good practice, I can tell its just not the same thing.
When my nieces were younger, they visited me during their vacation from Illinois a few times. We would do Disneyland , Knotts Berry Farm , Universal Studios .
I would fill them up with junk food and sugar, and then hand them back to their parents who would have to deal with the junk-food crankiness once back at the hotel. Hey, its fun being The Aunt.
Lately, I have become very sensitive to the shallowness of many of the adults I come across in Hollywood and/or the Entertainment Biz. It just seems that a large percentage of the people I come across are Users, willing to take and take and never give anything back. They are even willing to Take when its not theirs to take. The amount of Cheating, Dishonesty and Lies that I have been witnessing lately seems to be on the rise. The people who do it, don't think its bad or wrong, as long as they get something out of it.
In this current atmosphere, I have been trying to walk the straight and narrow. Its not that easy, because dishonest people can make really good sense sometimes. "Hey, you aren't hurting anybody, and you're getting something for free - so what can be wrong with that?", they will say. You know, sometimes its really easy to see their point - even though their point is just plain wrong.
So I have become intensely aware lately, of maintaining a Strong Character. And doing things that are "Adult" and build inner strength.
This is why, when I got the email about being a Summer Sunday School Teacher, it appealed to me. Here was a chance to do something that would help build my Character. Something grown-up. Something I could do that wasn't selfish, and might actually help me grow as a person.
It also required being at church in the morning at 9:00. Thats pretty unusual for me. Even on work days, I don't have to get there until 9:30, and alot of time I am late for that. So... a commitment of 9 am on a Sunday for two months... okay, I am fine with that, yes, I can manage it.
Today, I had to go in for a Training Day. To learn from the regular teachers about whats what about the classroom. I am assigned with 2 other people to the 3 year olds classroom.
Well, if I hadn't been up to get ready for Sunday School so early .... I would have been woken up any way.
We had an Earthquake .
I was in the bathroom, putting on make-up. I felt and heard the building give a large "Creeeek". Water dribbled from the shower head.
And I wondered what was going on.
Then I saw my scented Avon Bath Gels, hanging from the shower caddy, by their little plastic hooks - swaying back and forth in unison. (I have one in Vanilla, and one in Odyssey scent.)
"Oh, wow, we just had an earthquake" I said to myself.
I checked on Cinnamon the Cat, and she was still asleep on the bed.
The thought hit me, "Gee, God's so shocked that I want to teach Sunday School with the 3 year olds, he just had an Earthquake".
So its quite possible, that the entire thing was my fault.
Once at Church, I searched for the building. I have never even been to the Sunday School building. The Sunday School Organizer I had emailed had given me directions. So finding the building was okay. Finding the actual classroom was alittle bit more difficult. I just asked people along the way "Where is the 3 year olds classroom ?" I finally found it on the second floor.
There are 3 people who usually teach the 3 year olds. I will be assigned along with 2 other people. Today, there were 4 people there. I watched and listened and followed. They showed me where they kept the Art Supplies, the Fruit Juice and whatever else I would need. When asked "Do you know where the Library is?" I had the perfect answer : "No, this is my first time - EVER - in this building.".
The kids were great. At first it seemed we would have a small class. But they kept trickling in. And soon we were filled with 15 kids.
And the 3 year olds are so cute. There are tons of toys, so the minute they get there, they would just run over to their favorite toys and start playing.
For the first part of the class, they had free play time. Then they had a lesson on a Bible Verse. Then we went into the little childrens chapel where we sang songs and had the Childrens Bible Story . After that, it was Graham Crackers and Apple Juice.
You know, I might be able to handle this okay. Its actually really fun.
As we were all sitting and having our Graham Crackers and Apple Juice, I could start to see all the kids distinctive personalities.
It must be the actress in me, because listening to one little girl talk about the Ballet Performance she had just attended I thought "She is going to grow up to be another Nicole Kidman".
I don't know where that thought came from, but this little 3 year old, reminded me of Nicole Kidman.
The second shift teachers arrived at around 10:30, so I was free to go to Church Service. I walked on over to CUE in the Warehouse Building. It was pretty packed, the rock and roll music was really good. The perfect church service to blend both my "Hollywood Self" and my "Christian Self".
