Once Upon a Stage

" . . .we aren't always looking for a push. Instead we just want someone to cheer for us . . . we all need people to encourage us to do the next right thing. From time to time, we all need standing ovations." Tony Morgan, Simply Strategic Volunteers

"I think there's a reason bedtime stories always end with 'happily ever after.' Once everything is happy and there's no struggle, then there's no more story to tell. We don't want to hear about happiness and peace unless the story also includes freedom and discovery. Without discovery all you have is monotony. Without freedom, utopia isn't paradise after all. It's just hell in a fancy prom dress. But God can create a better paradise than that . . . God's first words to humans were 'You are free'." Steven James, Story

"And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden . . . " Genesis 2:16 (NIV)

castles crumble into lumber and screws

costumes return to dark, dusty rooms above the seats

goosebump harmony fades in the echoes of an empty stage

just eight weeks and a few days

after freedom and opportunity met

and forty teenagers created two nights of beauty, laughter, and love

costumes and characters shed like snakeskin

as reality is waiting like an angry parent

alas, there is no more makeup to hide behind,

programs with their names have long since been tossed away,

and the applause died down like a wave

and who knows when the next one is coming

ready-made approval of a sea of faces

long since gone their separate ways

like confetti in a windstorm

My dear Friend,

My fellow fan of these precious kids

My Creator and theirs,

I just wish they knew

the true freedom and discovery

of living life for an audience of One

that life is not hell in a fancy prom dress

to see the potential they have

to create beauty, laughter, and love

every moment, every day,

for the rest of their play

on this stage called earth

only then will they experience the true

happily ever after

but for now I simply thank you

for eight weeks and a weekend of joy

with forty teenagers

Once Upon a Stage