Kelly and I had a great idea yesterday. Our small-group from church was scheduled to meet at our house, but we had one child that was not feeling that great. Being unsure of whether or not Emma was acually sick (and possibly contagious) we decided to move the venue outdoors so that all the other children (and adults) would not be stuck in a house with sick germs.
We had our small-group meet at a park not far from our house. It was a pretty good plan. The kids would be able to play on the playscapes while the adults talked at the picnic tables. Abby and Grace and I went out early and claimed our tables - just in case any other pesky church groups had the same idea. All was going well... until people started asking where the bathrooms were.
We had kind of forgotten about that detail.
We had a whole lotta kids who "had to go potty real bad", but there was nothing close by. Parents had to get into their cars and drive them to restrooms. And, of course, the kids didn't all have to go at the same time. They were all about 15 minutes apart. Some of them had to go more than once. We had quite the rotation of cars coming and going.
Meanwhile - here is "Pastor Greg" trying to lead meaningful discussion about the Christian life among our group. And, my group is so great - so polite. They were nodding at statements, answering questions, participating in conversation. All the while, one by one, they were called away by children who really had to pee.
I am sure it would have looked quite comical to an outside observer. But, no one complained. I think everyone was just happy to be together on a beautiful spring evening. Everyone stayed till well past the kid's bedtimes and it was too dark to see. And, while I certainly won't make the mistake again of taking my group to a place that has no restrooms, I still think the evening went quite well.
Somehow, meeting around picnic tables in a park without restrooms took some of the polish off or our normal meeting times. Usually we meet in a comfortable living room with good lighting and soft music - and adequate restroom facilities. Tonight was very different. It was a good reminder of just how ordinary we all are. And, while we have real and complex issues that need to be talked through with other Christ followers, we nevertheless, live in an ordinary world - a world in which children just can't "hold it" for very long.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
if we moved back to hesston, could we be in your small group? we wouldn't have to use the facilities too often. :-)
You should have met at Pete's Puddle! That would have solved all of your problems. I guess the old adage is true, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink"
I guess just telling them to "go find a friendly tree" wasn't going to work.
It did in Boy Scouts.
Post a Comment