Alli and Cole participated in the Christmas program at our church called, "The Pine Tree Parable." It is a very cute story about a couple who have a Christmas tree farm. The farmer's wife saves the most beautiful tree on the farm year after year for themselves, but then gives it to a very poor family who cannot afford the tree. The kids did a wonderful job showing everyone that having a giving spirit pleases God.
Alli was especially excited this year because she was assigned a speaking part, a bible verse which she memorized extremely fast. As show time came around, you could tell she was starting to get nervous, but wouldn't admit to it. Then when she stood up to the microphone, she looked down and crossed her arms (oh no!), but then looked back up and spoke her verse clearly (whew!). When she got to the book of the bible and verse numbers, she stumbled and said a wrong number. You could tell by the look on her face she was crushed. There were 2 performances and after the 1st one, she found us and just burst into tears. "I said it wrong," she cried. We comforted her and reassured her that she spoke the Word of God beautifully. We also told her that being nervous is normal and that she will do just fine the next time. And she did. She stumbled a little but was pleased with her performance. We were very proud of her for sticking it out and trying again. Poor girl, unfortunately stage fright comes naturally. Her Mom will not speak in front of a crowd for anything.
Cole was unfazed by the audience. He stood up there and said all the words to the poem the little kids performed, but didn't do the hand movements until the second performance. Not sure what that was all about.
Anyway, they had a good time participating and we look forward to next year.
"Children are a gift from the Lord." Psalm 127 verse 3
