In Costa Rica, we did multiple events called “Dia de Deportes” at local schools, which are the equivalent of field days. Remeber when you had field day at school and you spent the day running around like a crazy person, throwing water balloons and doing relay races? Yeah, well, that’s what we did. In between each activity we’d quickly chat with each other about how our day was going: “My kids understood English…. kinda!” or “Aww, the kids in my group didn’t understand the directions but they were adorable!”
On day, after an hour or two, I noticed that I’d heard one particular comment from everyone: “Oh my gosh, just wait til you get the kid in the red shirt. He’s SO BAD!”
Well, when I saw “the kid in the red shirt” sauntering towards me, I had about 3 seconds to make a decision: be tough with him, or give him a chance. I went with the latter. So I smiled and complimented his shoes or something. And I asked his name because, it occured to me, nobody seemed to know his name. He was just “the kid in the red shirt”. So he told me his name is Jordy, short for Jordan.
And I immediately put Jordy in charge. He helped pick teams, he helped organize where people stood for volleyball, he taught other kids how to serve and spike…. he was an AWESOME HELPER. I had NO problems with him. Was it because I have amzing Super Nanny skills? Ha! NO. It was because I saw a kid who was desperate for attention and was willing to get it in any way, be it positive or negative. And I chose to give him positive attention; I chose to ‘kill him with kindness’. I chose to look past his previous misbehaviors and look for the good in him. And as a result, he thrived!
And isn’t that just like our relationship with God? He chooses to look past our misbehaviors and bad choices, and instead, he sees the good in us and loves us; He gives us countless opportunities to thrive, to find joy and to be content. He takes the time to know our names and see us for who we can be, not just who we’ve been.
I’m glad I got “the kid in the red shirt”. Jordy unknowingly helped me remember that to God, I’m sometimes the kid in the red shirt! But thankfully, God still chooses to know my name and give me grace.
Now that’s some Good News! Amen!
