Sitting there with the coffee cup warming my hands, I wasn’t sure if the smile would ever come off my face. The setting was a cafeteria-esque hangout room in a local school. Tile floors, off-white walls, and slightly uncomfortable furniture in muted colors. But this school was also a little different. I had come to Sandelford with a group from Causeway Coast Vineyard, our contact church here in Coleraine. Dave, the children’s pastor, had invited Bri and I along to help put on an assembly for the lower school. We were doing a lesson about reaping what you sow and planting generosity. The best part about Sandelford though is its purpose; this is a special needs school that serves elementary to high school kids for 30 miles around.
I don’t have much experience working with special needs children, but I was very excited to get involved. Regardless of what type of school we are working with, young children are my default comfort zone. You don’t have to be particularly cool or interesting to win their approval. You just have to be loving, able to laugh, and willing to look a little goofy. So as Dave led the assembly I smiled, joked, hugged, waved, held hands, cheered, and ended up eating a tomato as part of a skit.
After the assembly with the younger children we were able to sneak back to the high schoolers for about twenty minutes before we had to leave. It was tea time and teachers were laughing and smiling while they passed plates of toast and biscuits and mugs of tea and coffee around to students and visitors, like me. High schoolers milled around greeting friends, chatting in groups, and playing pool during the break. I’ll be honest, I was more nervous to hang out with the older kids. Teenagers are much harder to impress than young children.
Ends up I had no reason to be nervous. As I walked towards one of the tables I was greeted with a strong handshake and a bright-eyed boy saying, “Hello, my name’s Keelan.” I sat down with Keelan and a few others as a teacher placed a big steaming mug of black coffee into my hands. Quickly everyone around was drawn into the “Keelan Show”. A movie fanatic, he flipped through DVD covers showing us his favorite films and movie stars. He knew all the names, all the theme songs, and especially all the leading ladies. In the midst of a sentence he would drop into character- finger gun up, smoldering gaze, humming Adele’s Skyfall, and then a dramatic, “The name is Bond. James Bond.”
Keelan kept me in constant and quick conversation. We shared praise over Daniel Craig as James Bond, and we only came to a small disagreement when I tried to convince him that watching Pride and Prejudice would be worth his time. Once I stumped him in conversation when I asked, “If you starred in the next Bond movie, what girl would you pick to star with you?” A look of determined concentration crossed his brow. Finally, the answer the came. “I would pick the one right here,” he said as he patted his heart. Laughter and cheers of “Good answer!” filled the table.
Our time ended too quickly, but Keelan and some other students were off to the gym. He told me he needed to work on his Daniel Craig muscles. As we walked out of the school we passed a bulletin board decorated in pictures from last year’s formal. The church puts on the biannual event for the students providing everything from dresses and makeup to limo rides and dinner. In the center I spotted Keelan in a classic tux with a bow tie. He looked like James Bond on the Skyfall posters.
Looking at these children I realized that this is exactly how God created them, knit together in their mother’s womb just like I was. Made perfectly in His image, destined to do Kingdom work planned by the Heavenly Father, just like me.. The issue of identity and “finding” the one that belongs to you has been on my mind consistently. It’s days like today that help me realize that my identity is founded in Christ and the gifts, talents, and passions He has given me.
Keelan was given a passion for movies and a talent for conversation and spreading joy by the same God who has given me a passion for reading and a talent for communicating. I pray that we will both use our Christ given identities to further God’s Kingdom.
