Bunkie Needs a Ladybug!

Waaay back last January, I was motivated by the forces of God, and the fact that most of my functioning neurons were broken, to offer my services as the director for this year's Christmas children's pageant at our church.

In my humble opinion, and I believe most moms will agree, being "the director" simply means you will entice other unsuspecting female humanoids to assist you, and so you really don't have to shoulder much responsibility, other than to make sure the helpers do in fact help, on the actual day you need them. I love Christmas pageants, Easter pageants, and well, really, since I'm known in my household as "The Empress," I just love pageantry altogether. I mean, let's face it, who doesn't look good in a tiara, as sparkly cardboard stars sway overhead?

Now I don't often wax sentimental, but this year I have set myself up for a huge emotional dam-burst. We're doing a reprise of a program I assisted with 20 years ago. Children of the original actors are in this year's production, including my own son. Our pastor is retiring and we can barely bring ourselves to think about it, let alone dedicate this performance to him and his legacy of children's ministry. The tears will be flowing and the kleenex will disintegrate by the thousands.

With so much at stake, and after listening to Christmas songs in August, after weeks of rehearsal, hours of scrubbing angel costume paint from under my fingernails, time on the phone coercing volunteers, and four bazillion questions from the mothers who don't read the letters I sent home, by the time dress rehearsal rolled around, I needed 3 things: tequila, 47 Hershey bars, and someone to plop down from Heaven and take over for me, because the fragile eco-system known as my Christmas pageant was crumbling faster than a shortbread cookie.

Motherhood has taught me some semblance of patience, which means I can almost count to 4 in that whole "count to 10" thing. You get the picture, I am a firecracker waiting to go off. In the middle of a really ghastly rehearsal, I realized in horror that it was my ultimate responsibility to get this hulking monster that was masquerading as a Christmas pageant off the ground. Yet this ship of fools was tethered by a four-ton anchor and there were no lifeboats in sight...

God does work in mysterious ways. As I was about to completely lose my cool, and inform the little angels that not only were they off-key, they were all a bunch of no-good, lazy....

Well, anyway, I glanced over and saw a 2-year old child smiling at me with her entire body. She gave me a little wave, I was dumbstruck, and instead of screaming at innocent children, I simply let it go and moved on to the next song.

After rehearsal, I was collecting the huge piles of "stuff" that we director-types have to lug around like pack mules, and this same small child approached me. She reached into a cloth basket she carried over her arm, just like Little Red Riding Hood. She pinched some air tightly between her finger and thumb, and offered it to me with a whisper.

"Here," she said in a very small voice, "you need a ladybug." I accepted this invisible insect, pretended to inspect it with awe and wonder, and my heart melted. Then, in the spirit of true Southern hospitality, which means you may never accept a gift without offering something in return, I pretended to snatch an invisible wayward ladybug out of the air, and placed it in the child's basket.

"Oh, thank you," she whispered, and scampered off to find her mother.

Today is performance day. The work of five months will present itself on stage in a matter of 45 minutes, and no matter what happens, there will be proud parents, confident children, and the true spirit of Christmas abounding in our hearts. But when this performance is over, as others talk about how cute the mishaps were, or how well their child sang his or her solo, I will remember the gift that was given to me by a precious 2-year old child, in the same spirit that God sends His love to us, if we will only be still and pay attention, and receive it.

Enjoy the season, spread love around, and pay attention to children. They are truly God's miracles here on earth.