Rockstar

 Yesterday during first grade music,

We were singing “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

#1 said, “Oh, I love this song!”

#2 said, “Yeh, #1 is a rockstar at this song.”

Sure enough, #1 sang every word,

And stayed on pitched.

He was, indeed, a rockstar.

 

The exchange was very simple.

#2 didn’t hesitate to compliment #1.

H e was straightforward,

Because he knew it was a fact.

He was very genuine in his tone of voice,

Sort of like #1’s hype-guy,

But he was much humbler than a hype-guy.

He was, very simply, a kind and supportive friend.

 

First grade music is at the beginning of the day.

That one passing line,

“#1 is a rockstar at this song,”

Stayed with me

And made me smile

All day yesterday.

Through super hyper classes,

Through lunch and lunch duty,

Through a spelling bee that lasted 25 rounds and included no less than six championship words, volleyed back and forth between three really good spellers,

Through car duty,

And all the way home,

#2’s strong affirmation played on repeat in my mind.

 

What if we didn’t hesitate to compliment our friends?

What if we declared as a matter of fact that our friends are rockstars?

What if our tone of voice still held innocent wonder?

What if, very simply, we were kind and supportive friends?

 

Dear God: Thank you for children—for how they challenge and inspire us—for how they speak to our hearts—for how they make us smile. You have given us each different gifts and talents. Help us to honor those differences and to celebrate them with the enthusiasm of a child. And help us, too, God, to find the rockstar in those around us and to boldly, yet humbly, brag on one another, support one another, and encourage one another freely. Always. Amen.