FORUM
?
__ - - I
The words of a child
Nigel
Alston
Motivational
Moments
Children are unpredictable.
You never know what inconsis
tency they're going to catch you
in next.
- Franklin P. Jones
Jimmy Buffet is quoted as
saying "if we couldn't laugh, we
would all go insane." 1 agree,
and believe laughter is good
medicine for the soul and chil
dren seem to be full of surprises
that produce an ongoing supply
of it. I remember a conversation
I had once with a little girl
named Sydney, then 7 years old.
You never know what children
are going to say next, and some
times, you get caught off guard.
I was that day when 1 learned
she later described our trip to the
corner store as "romantic."
Children are innocent that
way, often providing more
information than you expect,
asking the unexpected one
moment and saying the unex
pected the next.
Sydney not only thought we
had a romantic interaction, she
doubted if 1 was telling her the
truth.
"What's your name," she
wanted to know.
"Nigel" I said.
"No, for real."
"That's my name," I said,
trying to contain my laughter. I
was cracking up inside.
Sometimes it's not the ques
tion asked but the reason for
asking it that produces a smile.
It starts off as an innocent
inquiry even though in the back
of your mind, you wonder,
"Where did that come ' from?"
I'm sure that is what the mother
of a little boy- initially thought
when he asked her if it were true
what the Bible says about men
and women being created from
dust and returning to dust when
they die.
"Yes," his mom said, verify
ing the scripture. "Why?" She
was probably standing still,
bracing herself for the unexpect
ed. She would not be disap
pointed.
"Well I was crawling around
under the bed and I saw some
one but I couldn't tell if they
were coming or going!" he said.
Isn't that funny? I found
myself laughing at that story.'
It's cute isn't it? Surprise, sur
prise, surprise.
That's what I said as I read
an email sent to me recently,
simply asking, "Have you seen
this?" From the first comment
to the last question, I laughed
and couldn't wait to share the
email with others.; Again, the
honesty and innocence of each
statement or question brings to
life what children believe to be
true and what they have been
taught and or observed from
others.
Imagine you are a small
child seeing the world* through
little eyes. Adults have taken
you to church.
You have attended vacation
bible school and you have lis-,
tened to your Sunday school
teachers. You believe the stories
they and your parents have told
you.
Here is a suggestion for God
from Jane. "Dear God, instead
of letting people die and having
to make new ones why don't
you just keep the ones you got
now?"
Remember, you are seeing
the world through a child's eye?
and you want to know what God
thinks. Neil had a question
about kissing. "Dear God, 1
went to this wedding and they
kissed right in church. Is that
ok.?" Or this one from Jennifer.
She asks a thoughtful question.
It makes sense to me. "Dear
God, In bible times did they
really talk that fancy?" How
about this one from Robert.
"Dear God, I am American
What are you?" Do you have a
smile on your face yet?" I do,
again. ?
Some comments are
thoughtful too, like this one
from Ruth. "Dear God, I think
the stapler is one of your great
est inventions." And Elliott, I'm
sure, wanted to show his grati
tude to God. "Dear God, I think
about you sometimes even when
I'm not praying."
Hold on, it gets better.
Some are thankful, even
though they didn't get what they
asked for, like this comment
from Joyce. "Dear God, thank
you for the baby brother but
what I prayed^or was a puppy."
Now, that is miarious. As is this
recognition of the difficulty of
being God, from Nan. "Dear
God, I he t it is very hard for you
to lov^Ldl of everybody in the
whole world. There are only 4
people in our family and 1 can
never do it."
Little Mickey wanted God to
check him out. "Dear God, If
you watch in Church on Sunday
I will show you my new shoes."
Cool, huh? And consider this
serious request from Denise.
"Dear God, if we come back as
something please don't let me
be Jennifer Horton because I
hate her."
A- lesson in forgiveness
might help her. Peter on the
other hand was not so forward.
"Dear God, please send Dennis
Clark to a different camp this
year." A simple request, right?
Maybe the parable of the
rich man would help Raphael.
"Dear God, If you give me a
genie lamp like Aladdin I will
give you anything ..you. want
except my money or my chess
set."
Thank God for little children
and laughter.
Nigel Alston is a radio talk
show host, columnist and motiva
tional speaker.- He is the chair
man of the Winston-Salem State
University Board of Trustees.
Visit his Web site at
wwwjnotivationalmoments .com .
Why I am for Barack Obama
Joseph
Lowery
Guest
Columnist
From the stage of a recent
Barack Obama rally in Atlanta,
estimated to be 30 ,000- strong, I
witnessed a marvelous expres
sion of a new attitude being born
in the American psyche.
Witness the mosaic: young
and old, black and white and
brown; from all economic sta
tions, "all fired up" over this
extraordinary candidate. And I
said, "Thank you Lord for
allowing me to live long enough
to experience this now." It's not
just the force of the moment, but
it is an idea whose time has
come - "the fierce urgency of
now."
That's what Barack Obama 's
candidacy embodies: freedom
now, not four years later or the
next time around. Not only is
Obama a breath of fresh air, his
promise of hope is deliverance
from the dynasties of an old
guard that commands othe cur
rent political landscape: Not
only does he represent a break
from the status quo, he gener
ates an enthusiasm among
young people - energy not wit
nessed my entire 86 years of
life. Obama is the face of tomor \
row today.
In a society where race .
defines so much, Barack Obama
is not hampered by his black: /
ness. In the overwhelmingly'
white Iowa Democratic Caucus,
..which gave him a sweeping vic
tofy, an unshackling played out
in the same way the burden of
race was lifted, and the people
of Massachusetts (black people
Ohama 2008 Photo
A view of one of Obama's Iowa headquarters.
make up only six percent of the
electorate) chose Deval Patrick
- a black man - as governor.
Can we celebrate, finally,
that the white electorate is tak
ing a cue from the African
American community by voting
for a candidate with little to no
regard of his or her race? Are
the voters in a state that is 95
percent white affirming to the
nation? but especially to the
African American community -
that indeed a black man can
win?
As the Democratic primaries
move to the southeastern states
-South Carolina, Georgia,
^Alabama, Maryland, Virginia,
(Tennessee and Louisiana -
/where black voting strength is
considerable, that message has
particular relevance.
I am certainly not advocat
ing an appeal to racial ^politics,
although I wiTTSdmit to a ^
level of pride. My caution is
don't embrace this soaring polit- ?
ical star simply because he's
black but because he's deserv
ing.
To know Obama is to cele
brate the American success story
that we have always yearned to
live.
Abandoned by his father and
raised by grandparents, he stud
ied hard andsbelieved in his
intellect. His achievement.vare
celebratory: Columbia under
grad, Harvard Law, first black
president of the Harvard Law
Review, civil rights attorney,
Illinois state senator, and the
United States Senate - the third
African American since
Reconstruction to hold that seat.
He has not climbed to the
pinnacle of achievement with
out hard work and personal sac
rifice. As a community organiz
er he passed up lucrative offers
to be a corporate lawyer to labor
in the trenches. It was only his
^arrival on the national scene and
"bis best? selling book that
allowed him and his wife
Michelle to pay off law school
loans.
Supporting Barack Obama is
not just voting for a black man.
It is a statement for change. It is
an act of courage.
In the early days of the civil .
rights struggle, sp many people
hung, on the sidelines even
though they believed in the cor
rectness of our cause . They were
shackled by their own fear,
although not without reason.
The threat of physical harm was
real. We were challenging the
status quo and our opponents
were vicious in their grasp on an
old order. But we pushed for
ward. relegating our fears to the
background in pursuit of liberty.
We had to trust in the higher
Power that had inspired those
aspirations in the first place.
Certainly the waging of our
vote in the presidential primar
ies won't be challenged with fire
hoses and dogs. Though, I -sense
a subtle and uneasy fear in our
community, more insidious,
cloaked and unspoken. The fear
of change, of the new and of
potential peril can only be
resolved by embracing the pos
sibilities on the other side.
To recall the words of James
R. Lowell, "Then to side with
truth is noble, when we shared
her wretched crust. Ere her
cause bring fame and profit and
tis prosperous to be just; Then it
is the brave man chooses while
the coward stands aside. Till the
multitude make virtue of the
faith they had denied."
*. We are on the brink of
touching a collective dream,
fleeting and possible. Let us
make it real as we celebrate the
future today.
The Rev. Joseph Lower? is
co-founder and President
Emeritus of tfre ? SoutKern
Christian Leadership
Conference.
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