Being a youth leader affords me the opportunity of being a kid… alot.  I get to let my hair down, act stupid, and get away with it.  The beauty of it is those aged 12-18 think that I’m cool whereas doing stuff like that at the office?  Not so much.  (And I do it at the office, but I don’t get the same response…)

There is very little proof, documented anyway, of me acting like a kid.  The main reason is that I’m always the one taking the pictures.  Actually, I take that back.  If you visit the MySpace pages of the majority of my youth members, there might be some pictures that I chose not to share with the rest of the world… or at least my true “grown up friends”…

However, this morning, I read about a contest at 5 Minutes For Mom and they want to see a picture that captures the kid in you.

I immediately thought of a picture that, to me, would fit this description for me.  To many, it might not be anything special, but to me, at a pretty dark time in my life, it was a bright spot.

click to enlarge

Yup, that’s me… jump roping… and it was the first time that I had picked up a jump rope in I can’t tell you how long…. and it was fun as I skipped around that tennis court, showing my kids just how awesome I am.

So there it is… a picture that captures the kid in me… and not one of me being totally off the wall for the entertainment of others.  That, dear readers, was for me.

For more pictures of the kid in others or to enter your own for the chance to win a Wii, head over to 5 Minutes for Mom.

And if you do enter, leave me a comment… I’d love to see the kid in you!

Until next time…

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I’ll be honest — I don’t know who Alda Noftsinger is, but she’s on my mind and on my heart tonight.

We took the youth group on a Destination Unknown tonight. We went to a cemetary and while that seems so morbid, the lesson that went with it was amazing.

But more on that lesson a little later.

When we arrived, we instructed the teens to pair up and meander through the grounds. The goal was just to observe; to see what we could see and to reflect on some of the observations that we made.

As we were walking, I noticed one tombstone in which a husband had passed on in 1961 yet there was no date under the wife’s name. We assumed that she was still living and celebrated her 103rd birthday on March 3rd this year. Could you imagine being without your husband for that long?

We continued on and saw several markers that indicated they served in one of the World Wars; we found one who was born in 1850; we found several with little notes engraved.. the most touching was the heart with the three simple words “I love you” contained within.

But as we continued our walk, I stopped when I noticed a marker that had August 18th on it. That date stuck out at me as that was the day that Samara was due, even though the little bugger waited another seven days to make her arrival.

When I investigated a littler deeper, I noticed that the date of birth and death were exactly the same meaning this child never lived to see his second day of life. How sad. I’ve never experienced this, but know of some that have and I can’t even begin to imagine what this would be like.

Because the marker noted that he was the son of Robert B. and Alda Noftsinger, we knew the names of his parents. There were other Nothsingers in the same area and as we looked we were able to identify a few generations of the Noftsingers.

And then we stumbled upon Robert B., Jrs marker. Robert B., Jr died the day after his 21st birthday. Another life snuffed out way too soon.

Next to Robert B. Jr’s marker was that of Robert B. He had outlived two of his children, perhaps all of his children.

We searched the area and never found a marker for Alda so we assume that she is still alive.

We gathered back for our lesson and we looked at what was between the year of birth and the year of death and determined that there’s just a dash. That’s it. An entire life is identified by just a dash. We talked more about how our lives are defined. Many tombstones stated “beloved wife and mother” or “devoted husband and father” but isn’t there more to our lives? How will people remember us when we’ve passed on? Will that dash represent a Christlike life?

It was a lot to ponder on.

Before we left, we were again instructed to split up and reflect on the dash in our lives and how we will chose to live our lives. I walked back over to the Noftsinger family and quietly knelt before their family tombstone. I prayed for Alda and any remaining family members she may still have. Obviously, having lost at least two children and her husband, I’m sure that she’s gone a few rounds with the Lord. I don’t know if she’s secured her place in Heaven, but tonight I prayed that if she didn’t know the Lord, that today would be the day He made Himself available to her in the most obvious way possible.

Amidst the craziness of the evening with finishing homework, returning all the phone calls, getting kids into bed and taking care of my stuff, I’ve not been able to stop thinking about Alda and the dash that will appear one day on her grave marker. I place her in her late 70s, early 80s based on the age of her husband and her children, but I don’t know. I picture her still alive as there was no marker for her, but if she had no family, who knows where she might be buried.

I wonder if she had any more children. I wonder if she was ever able to see a child graduate from college, get married, or have a grandchild. I wonder if she’s lived a good life or if she’s filled with bitterness. I wonder if she was able to truly experience all the joys of motherhood. I wonder if she’s taken care of. I wonder where she is, if she’s living in a home that’s filled with friends and love or if she’s stuck in a nursing home where no one comes to visit.

Yes, Alda, a woman I’ve never met, let alone heard of, prior to this evening has taken up alot of my time tonight. And again, tonight, I’ll pray for her and her remaining family members and hopefully, she’ll be blessed in some unexpected way tonight… where ever she is…

Until next time…

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