As I watched the 2nd and 3rd grade Joyland children perform and sing and recall their lines virtually flawlessly on the night of the Joyland Christmas Celebration 2007, I was able to reflect on how God had truly coordinated and made all the pieces come together. You see, many (myself most of all) would consider it something of a miracle that the skit was a success.
From the beginning, we couldn’t figure out a decent script after weeks and weeks of brainstorming. Somehow, we handed our humble ideas to a couple of our in-house drama ‘contractors’ Richard and Andrew, and after a single night at the 24-hour diner, a new, complete script had been cranked out. Thinking that the hardest was over, we dove into preparing costumes and props and kid assignments and coaching. I quickly found my hands full, and myself scrambling to keep up with all of the variables that needed to be considered. Members of my team were constantly asking me “Errrrr… shouldn’t we be doing _____ now? And … uh… don’t you think we need to ____?” Moreover, the kids were having a hard time speaking with any expression or consistent acting.
With all of these issues and more, I knew that I was in over my head with this skit, and only with God’s much-needed help did anything happen. My team seemed to always remember what needed to be done when I didn’t, and they worked tirelessly for many late nights to get every aspect to be the most thorough or complete as possible. Other members from different parts of our church volunteered hours to help our kids emote appropriately. Many of our ideas or plans flopped but with just enough time to modify them.
In the end, I saw that God wouldn’t let my incompetence get in the way of making this a special time for each child involved. I am humbled and amazed at how God worked in spite of my failures and shortcomings, and in the end, it gives much such security and joy in Him to know that He is so faithful.