Laughing at Ourselves and Daring to Dream

We've created a new game this week called Keep it Going. It involves a ping pong ball and 2 paddles, and it may or may not involve the ping pong table. Basically the game started out with me and one of the boys playing (or attempting to play) ping pong, but we couldn't seem to keep it on the table! So we started playing where you'd just keep the game going, even if it hit the floor or the ceiling, or just stayed in the air while we hit it back and forth. It was a fun challenge to keep the ball bouncing, especially when it was so near to the ground.

One of the best parts about this new game though, was the fact that you didn't have to be good at it! So when neither me or this boy were good at ping pong, we could play this game and just laugh at ourselves and not be embarrassed by our lack of skill. And then when we did almost manage to look like we were playing a proper game of ping pong, we could congratulate ourselves.

I love being able to see these kids use their skills in various areas. When you get used to seeing people in a certain environment, you can forget that they might not be the best at this one thing, but they are a genius at something else. So when some of these kids might not be good at reading or football (soccer), they might be really good at keeping a ping pong ball bouncing on their paddle.

I met up with one of the girls for coffee yesterday, just to chat and hang out. This is one girl who has come to the Lord, but when she and her mother moved to another side of Cardiff, she had a difficult time staying plugged into church. During our conversation I asked her "If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?" I like to ask things like this just to open up the  kids' minds to the possibility of something different in life; daring them to dream. 

Her answer greatly surprised me. She said that she would like to be either a police woman or a prison guard. Now, understand that this girl, while she might be 17 looks to be about 13. She's petite, mild mannered and maybe an inch over 5 foot. It boggled my mind that this little lady wanted to be a prison guard! Not wanting to squelch any dream she has, I changed the subject, but I brought it up later. 

I asked her, "Why do you want to be a prison guard?" She answered that she wants to help people who have had troubled lives in the past and help them to start again new. 

Now I get the idea! I am then blown away by this girl's heart and her motivation behind her answer. Still unable to see her working as a prison guard, I suggest that if that's how she wants to help people, why not try helping at a half-way house? It's a place where prisoners might go to help bring them back into society. Or, if she's determined to help people who are currently imprisoned, she could try being a chaplain.

She seemed to really like that idea. We got distracted by then, so we didn't fully finish that conversation, but I am so encouraged by that meeting. She not only revealed her heart for broken people, but also her courage! I am so proud of her, for wanting to live her life for Christ. I encouraged her to ask God where He wants to take her, and that He will provide the way there.

Thank you all for your prayers over this city. Please pray for this young woman as she embarks on this new adventure with the Lord.