Commentary: Children need cheerleaders in life's race
1/13/2003 News media contact: Linda Green · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photo of Connie Davis Rouse is available at http://umns.umc.org/photos/headshots.htm. A UMNS Commentary By Connie Davis Rouse* This
time last year, the United States prepared for the Summer Olympics by
having people participate in the Olympic Torch Relay. My husband
fulfilled a childhood dream by becoming one of the runners.
"Run,
Luonne! Run!" the crowd cheered, as he dashed down Main Street in
Greenville, S.C. He was on a mission. He had promised to reach the last
person in the relay, the anchor, before the end of the nightly
newscast, as directed by the promoters. The anchor was #196, and he was
#195.
It was a short distance, but time was of the essence. He
ran like the wind, with people cheering along the way, and he delivered
the torch to its final destination minutes before the newscast ended.
Members from our church, where my husband serves as pastor, were there.
They had braved the cold for hours, and many of them ran alongside him
in a show of support.
Not only that, but several other ministers
came with their members in tow. Luonne's supporters showed such
excitement that strangers joined in. They began cheering and chanting
his name, as well. People who didn't even know him came over afterwards
to embrace him. The moment was fleeting, but it was great. What a joyous
night it was for him and us all.
Yet, in the midst of all the
excitement, I felt a kind of sadness. I wondered how many young people
there were in the world doing things far more significant than carrying a
torch down the street, but who never ever hear anyone rooting for their
successes.
My husband was tired, and his legs were cramped from
sitting in the bus for hours as he waited to do his run. Yet when he
stepped out and heard the people calling his name, he gathered new
strength. He had a wife, church members, friends and even strangers
cheering him on. Who cheers our children when they are tired or hurt and
feel they cannot go on?
How many children come home at the end
of a nine-week period with all A's and one B and never hear any praise
for the A's, only chastisement for the B? How many daughters or sons
perform in Christmas cantatas with no one in the audience to applaud
them? How many youth groups get no real support from their churches?
How many youth come to church every Sunday with their neighbors because
their parents refuse to bring them? How many young people never have
anyone tell them that they believe in them or their dreams?
"You're
just like your father. You're never going to amount to anything."
"You're as bad as your mother. I'm sorry you were born." "Our church has
no money for foolishness like that." "I don't like working with
children." Is that what our children hear?
Perhaps they are the
blessed ones. Perhaps they hear, "I love you!" "I believe in you and all
that God has made you to be." "Don't worry, we'll raise the money."
"I'm proud of you." "I'll always be there, no matter what."
And if they are really blessed, they might hear, "Run, children, run!"
If
we, as parents would do this for our children, then teachers and even
strangers might see our great excitement and join in along the highways
and byways of our children's lives to also cheer them on. They may even
decide to run alongside our children to give support when our young
people become weary.
The races that our children run encompass
far more distance than a few blocks. Their streets are not always paved
and lined with lights. There are few if any fans cheering them on. Their
race does not go to the swiftest but to the one who has the tenacity to
finish. There is no single winner. When one wins, we all win. The loss
comes, however, when even one of the sheepfold is lost. The race they
run is called life, and they need us, as adults, to tell them as often
as we can to "Run, children, run!"
How can we teach our children
to persevere in spite of the lack of support? Isaiah says that those
who place their hope in the Lord will have a renewed strength and "will
rise up and soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not get weary
and will walk and not faint." We must minister to every child with whom
we come in contact and teach them to trust in God, who is saying to each
of us every day of our lives, "Run, children, run!"
If we cheer them on, then perhaps they'll make it across the finish line.
# # #
*Rouse
is a free-lance writer, columnist for the South Carolina United
Methodist Advocate and member of Disciples United Methodist Church in
Greenville, S.C.
Commentaries provided by United Methodist News
Service do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of UMNS or
the United Methodist Church.
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