All In A Days Work

Fellow bloggers may be able to attest to this phenomenon, but now that I'm blogging I tend to funnel a lot of life through "would this make a good blog post?"  In doing that I have seen several themes emerge.  So far, with a whopping 8 posts under my belt, I've noticed a lot of my blogging inspiration comes from work.  I frequently desire to start my blog with "I LOVE MY JOB."  This just leads me to a point of gratitude to a gracious Father who would allow me to work in an area in which I'm so passionate, namely community ministry.

Yesterday was one of those days at work where I couldn't help but think, "Really, seriously, I get paid to do this stuff??  It just all seems too good to be true!"

I work for Calvary Baptist Church as the "Director of Community Ministry."  We have a community ministry initiative called "Love Winston-Salem," which is our strategy for community engagement in our city.  Through Love Winston-Salem, we focus on two communities - Southside and Kimberly Park.  In both of those neighborhoods we work heavily with the elementary schools as they are hubs for our children and seek to provide a critical foundation for their success - namely education.  Forest Park Elementary School is our partner in the Southside community.  Each month we go to Forest Park and provide parties for students who have excelled in various areas of school life (attendance, character, grades, etc.).  Yesterday happened to be one of our days to provide a monthly party, so the usual crew went over with ice cream, sprinkles, chocolate and caramel syrup in hand ready to encourage the students who had been selected for the party. 

Apparently yesterday was an abnormal day at Forest Park.  A lot of students and staff were sick.  Consequently we had a slow trickling of students into the party.  The first two students were the most precious boy scouts imaginable - Alex and Andres.  They came in proudly wearing their blue uniforms, and when I asked them about scouting, they proceeded to give me a 20 minutes spiel about the wonders of scouting at Forest Park.  They made me want to join!  As Alex, Andres, and I looked around and noticed that they were the only two out of an expected 60 students, I decided to head to the office to see what was going on.  As I passed the gym, I heard loud music exuding from the doors.  I looked in and saw about 50 kids at what appeared to be a dance party.  Curiosity got the best of me, and I stepped in to see what all this activity was about.  I was told that this was the "Gold Paw" Party for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders who had earned "C.A.T.S" for the majority of the year.  In layman's language, it was for kids who had sustained good behavior. 

I couldn't help but laugh as I looked around.  It was your typical awkward middle school moment brought to reality a little early for my elementary friends.  The boys were on the outside of the room with their arms crossed grinning at the girls who were huddled in the middle of the room dancing.  Most of the girls didn't really know how to dance so they were either swaying from side to side or twirling around in circles.  Except for one little girl; she knew what she was doing.  I thought, "Keep in PG!"  My humored trance was broken by the assistant principal asking me for my new last name (I just got married).  When I told him "Gaskins," he took it upon himself to jump on stage, grab the mic, and lead the kids in a chant beckoning me to the dance floor.  I mean, the kids were really excited; how could I let them down?  So I busted a "white girl" move on the dance/gym floor, and kids joined me.  It was a great moment in life! 

Suddenly I was brought back to reality with the remembrance that I was headed to the office to ask the secretary about kids coming to the character trait party, so I decided to put an abrupt end to my dance moves.  It was probably for the best because the girls had decided that the next dance move was going to be holding hands and running around the gym.  I wasn't interested.  So I removed myself and headed to the office to speak to the secretary.  She said she would make an announcement, and I headed back to the cafeteria to rejoin our group. 

The kids started trickling in and the all-star volunteer team had in covered.  We were in the groove - two people armed with the ice cream scoops, one with the sprinkles, one with the syrups (chocolate in one hand, caramel in the other), others were passing out napkins and still others talking with the students. 

All of a sudden I hear what I believe to be the "Cupid Shuffle."  Anyone who goes to a reception with a good DJ is going to dance to the "Cupid Shuffle."  It's a party dance.  And, hey, it's simple, so even the most uncoordinated of dancers [white people] can bust a move with their friends.  Again, impulses kicked in, and I was drawn back to the gym.  I was shocked to see that the kids had no clue how to dance the "Cupid Shuffle," so I thought it my responsibility to teach them.  I jumped into the middle of the dance floor and started into "To the right, to right, to the right to the right to the right.  To the left, to the left, to the left to the left to the left. Now kick with it, kick with it, kick with it, kick with it.  And walk it on out."  The song repeats itself probably 1,000 times, so by the end of the song you're destined to get it.  It was so fun to see kids who had no clue how to dance slowly join in and fill with joy as they became part of this dance group.  Some were better than others, but most everyone could get the general hang of it. 

As I was going through the 57th round of the Cupid Shuffle I looked over and saw a little girl I recognized from one of the sports camps we did at Christmas time.  We had invited her to be a part of one of our tutoring programs, MLKU.  I had even talked to her mom last week who seemed excited about her coming.  As I connected with DaeShanice, I asked her about coming to MLKU.  She said she wanted to come, but her mom didn't know where it was located.  I assured her that I would call her mom back and clarify the location.  DaeShanice had become a Christian at the Sports Camp, and we were excited to disciple her through MLKU.  This was a great connection! 

The song came to an end and it was time for the whole party to conclude.  I headed back to the cafeteria and was escorted by several dozen of my newest best friends, including Alex and Andres who had headed to the gym after they finished their ice cream.  I felt very full!  It was a great afternoon.  It was all in a days work.  :)

And thus is the Christian life.  God is calling people from every nation, tribe, and tongue - from every community in Winston-Salem - to join His great celebration.  He is beckoning through His Spirit that all would come.  He has ordained His Church to be His instrument in reaching neighbor and nation with the gospel.

"Hallelujah!  For our Lord God Almighty reigns.  Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!  For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.  Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.  Then the angel of LORD said to me, "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding CELEBRATION of the Lamb!"  Rev. 19: 6 - 9