Patient Puppetry: Plan B

I wondered how this trip to the hospital would play out.  My puppet partner was still out of town, and I’d been praying.  With a loose idea of how to adapt our puppet script, I left our usual cardboard theater at home and this time would enter the puppets from around a corner in the hospital playroom.  I’d tell some silly jokes, such as “What’s the best way to keep dogs out of the streets?” (Answer:  Put them in a barking lot.)  I’d also change puppets frequently, making exaggerated entrances like “E-x-c-u-u-u-s-e  m-e,” then asking a laughable question to encourage kids to smile.  Because we never know exactly who'll attend our puppet shows, whether teenagers, toddlers, or even adults, our need for flexibility rates high.  And I had asked the Lord to impart His selection of songs for us and tailor the whole occasion for the sake of any and all who would come.  Sometimes I caught myself smiling days ahead, just imagining the fun of interacting with these children.  So when Thursday came, I happily packed my cart for the hospital.  Turns out the playroom that day held extra volunteers who welcomed me in.  Eventually we greeted parents, grandparents, nurses, therapists, and a chaplain who joined our quite lively group of young patients.  Only "Jesus Loves the Little Children" from our regular sing-a-longs made the lineup that afternoon, as a very kind volunteer wholly adopted the new role of puppet front man, practically emceeing the whole routine.  To hear the kids chuckle and realize the Lord supplying them enjoyment, even in the midst of medical heartache, was truly a thrill for me.  To witness the Lord orchestrating words and timing among volunteers was awe-inspiring.  Indeed He had prompted my heart to make this trip, and along the way He supplied everything necessary to carry it out.  Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  Amen.

From the playground to the cedar cross

An awesome thing has lingered with me for weeks.  It started with a simple drive past an elementary school.  I’d passed this school before and really didn’t pay much attention until my friend and I were praying.  We met farther down the road at a large cedar cross on the property of her church.  Praying outside, we’d become accustomed to ant bites and mosquitoes and San Antonio’s extreme heat, yet this time something new floated in the air:  the voices of the children from the school.  And the voices stirred new thought.  I wondered, “If the children's playground voices floated to us, then to where and to whom were our voices floating?”  Who else was hearing the name of Christ that we spoke in prayer?  Whom all might the Lord be inspiring here?  This was wonderfully exciting.  And entirely possible.  And it fit right alongside other inclinations I’d had about taking the church into the world, stepping outside the walls of the church building and into the streets, into the businesses, into the open spaces where people roam.  In Mark 16:15, Jesus says, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”  I trust He knew we’d tend to isolate ourselves.  So He gave the instruction, and it’s time to move beyond our walls and privacy fences.  I pray for Him to give us His love of people and fill us with His joy.