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| Photo Credit: Kandis Spurling Photography |
“Standby lights. Standby curtain. Standby camera. Standby
stage performers.” The director’s voice buzzed my headphones. Excitement escalated
behind the curtain, as the well-rehearsed production was ready to take stage. We
were finally at the opening act, anticipating the reward of our labors. Not
able to be in the “bake off” scene as originally planned, I settled in nicely
to my new role as mic coordinator.
Calvary’s Spring Tea brings more talent than I can ever
begin to boast about. An artist who can take a blank canvas and turn it into a
masterpiece in 20 minutes, to signing for the hearing impaired and so much more,
this church blooms with flair. Many of the youth with singing, dancing and
rapping abilities, not to mention a lady who dropped the beat box better than I
could ever dream of! What fun! What excitement!
Performing in front of an audience can be nerve racking,
exhilarating and exhausting. Behind the scenes I saw delight as preschoolers,
kindergartners and elementary age girls played out their role to their best of their
ability. I saw teenagers and adults come to life as they had the opportunity to
act, dance and sing. One woman came with the determination to overcome a loss,
since the last time she sang was at her child’s funeral.
We carry a lot of life’s difficulties with us when we simulate
for others. We put on stage makeup to cover up our flaws, all the while choking
back tears, pushing down fears and struggling with daily stress. On the other
side of the drapes we try to laugh or cry our worries away, only to find they
are still there on platform with us. I saw the pain of loss in a mother’s eyes
as she brushed the tear-stains from her cheeks, waiting to sing a song that
resonated to the core of her being – her daughter laid to rest last November. Her
courage to sing despite the sorrow, gave me a new perspective on grief – it may
cause sadness, but the story continues. I passed my assistant a Kleenex, while I waited
for the singer to exit stage and take hold of her mic. The exchange came and I
moved toward the center of the platform equipping the next scene already in
motion. Yes, the show must go on, but the healing and hugging continued stage
left. (Assistants are a great support system!) I later learned that was only
part of the story. Her determination to sing was based on the reconciliation
with her God. A former prodigal daughter, she welcomed an outlet in which she could
voice her story of what Jesus had done in her life, in the deepest and most
passionate way possible.
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ealing is challenging
and uncomfortable and I cannot pretend to understand the loss of a child, but I
sympathize with tears. I’m blessed
to be a part of this church body, because they have prayed and shown me
compassion in my time of need. A former prodigal myself, I shied away from
church for a while, trying to cope with my own issues. God is the unsurpassed
at re-casting castaways.
As we write our daily scenes at the store, work, home, or
with family and friends, it eventually overflows into our show business. Weeks,
months and years of hiding our careworn lifecycle will overtake us. We can step
into the spotlight and embrace life’s challenges, or we can hide behind the
scenes and rehearse our pain and hardships. We need community like a director
needs stagehands. Finding the right crew to accomplish the work of God is
crucial to the outcome of the script. The church was created by God to achieve
this. We need each other to fulfill Christ’s playbill. He chooses who will act out our life’s story by becoming our
spiritual stagehands, directors and co-actors. We need to be open to this part
in our lives. God has already performed The
Greatest Story Ever Told, and it continues with us.
What’s your backstory? All actors have one. Hurt? Addiction?
Complacency? Stress? Do you have wounds that need to be healed? Have you been
traumatized by someone or an ill-starred event?
“The heart of God seems
to beat especially close to the victim of trauma:
‘He has sent me to
bind up the broken-hearted’ (Isaiah 61:1).
God desires the wounds of the traumatized to be bound up by loving
people.”
(from the book
Boundaries, by Henry Cloud & John Townsend)
Will you be a part of God’s casting call on your life? Will
you step out in faith so that God can bring healing, hope and joy to your life?
Even if you can’t see yourself on stage (opening up to others), God can. His
plans will never harm you (Jeremiah 29:11). You may have stage fright at first,
but as Pastor Ray communicated one Sunday, “Do it scared.”
Yvonne has been involved at Calvary since 2015 and
co-leads Celebrate Recovery’s The Landing,
a place for teens to heal from hurts, habits and hang-ups.
Ways to get connected at Calvary Community Church:
Celebrate Recovery
– This faith based support group is all about helping to get through hurts,
habits and hang-ups. Much more than the stigma of helping with just chemical
dependency and drug addiction, Celebrate Recovery helps people with
co-dependency, food addictions, sexual addictions, love & relationship
addiction, and anything that hinders our walk with Christ.
C.R. meets Monday
nights at 7 p.m. for adults, teens with child care available. For more
information about Celebrate Recovery, please go to www.wearecalvary.com
