For sixteen years I have gone to the
annual Carl G. Fisher Elementary School Talent Show.
The program is not rehearsed, or, at
least, it doesn’t appear to be. My favorite
assistant principal, Kevin Bourke, can’t get the sound right, though he tries. Just in case Kevin reads this article I
should say the acoustics were actually much better this year. Give him the most improved award.
The
larger staff got into the spirit of things this year by doing a line dance as a
show-stopping finale. It wasn’t bad,
though the entire town can, again, be thankful that Mr. Bourke pursued a degree
in administration rather than in the performing arts.
Seriously, I don’t want this to sound
like I’m anything but admiring of the whole show. There’s an occasional noteworthy piano
recital or comedic act. Yet, mostly the show involves average kids doing average
things in an average way.
It
is beautiful.
But I noticed something far more
impressive this year. It is an attitude
which has been long-cultivated by the staff, but this year it needed no
reminder. The kids, who chose not to participate
in the show were amazingly supportive.
When I was a child and about to attempt
something new, I was told by peers that I was going to “make a fool of myself.” They may have been trying to do me a Simon
Cowell-type favor and steer me to my better gifts. But at Fisher a student will have the whole
student body simply as a cheering section.
It is absolutely beautiful.
Is there anything uglier than sneering at a
person’s attempt to find and express beauty and meaning? We experience sneers
as ugly because God counts a faithful try as a perfect performance. Christ, the author and finisher of our act, opens
our eyes to how much pride he takes in our giving our very best shot. There is a freedom in knowing that we are surrounded
by a great cloud of witnesses from all ages who cheer us average people who
dare to believe our average try will be eternally significant.
