Love Isn't Love Till You Give it Away

Yesterday at church I wondered why I was there. I was not able to listen to a thing, and I wanted to pull my hair out.  Let me explain.

When we arrived at church (which meets in a school room), I noticed the desks had been turned around.  This was good because now the outside door would be at the back. Wes and I usually sit at the first desk near the door, and we are constantly distracted by the movement of children going in and out during the service. Zambian children are adorable, but they are not always taught to sit and be quiet in church.  It is not uncommon for them to run down the aisles, go to the front and stand with whoever is singing a special, bounce balls, throw paper airplanes, and whatever else they can find to do that is distracting. Most of the adults just let it all happen, although we can tell they too are distracted, but the Zambian philosophy of child rearing is, "Let kids be kids."

When I saw that the desks (made for two adults) were turned around, I decided to sit in my usual spot by the door. We usually have three or four of the noisiest little children wanting to sit with us, so I figured that since our seat was now at the back, perhaps others would not be so distracted by these little ones. Wes chose to sit up front since he was speaking.

First Machila, Jullien and Choopa arrived.  They are all five or under.  They all wanted to sit with me, but finally just Machila and Choopa sat down.  I gave them each a piece of paper and a pen to write with and they were happy. 

Church started and things were going fairly well, until "she" arrived.  I didn't realize that "she" was there until I felt someone pulling on my arm, "Laurie, I want to write." There was really no room on the bench and I was very hot, so I gave her a piece of paper and a pen and asked her to go and sit at a desk opposite of us. The look on her face told me that this was not going to work, so I squeezed her in as well.  By the way, "she" has a name--Purity. She is the cutest, but most stubborn little girl I have ever met.  She makes me laugh and scream at the same time.

Jullien joined us and now I had four little ones and no idea what was happening in the church service. Suddenly Machila and Purity got up and went outside. I followed them to see what mischief they might be up to.  They said they wanted to get a drink at the water pump. I told them to return quickly.

When the time came for the children to go to their class, I saw the two girls running back from the pump.  They came into the church dripping wet.  I think they had more than just a drink of water. I told them that the children had gone to their class; I decided I'd better escort them.  Machila had a fit, and Purity followed her example.  HELP! I went to retrieve Machila's mother who came and took over with her daughter. I gave Purity a little pat on the bum and told her to stop throwing a fit. She wrapped her arms around my neck and melted my heart.

I entered the children's class with Purity hoping she would sit and listen, but it was not going to happen. I saw that the teacher, who was new, was not doing well with the little ones.  They were climbing on desks, yelling and screaming, and she was trying to tell a story.  I took the three littlest ones, Purity, Choopa and Jullien and went on a discovery walk. We talked about who had made the trees, the rocks, and anything else we could find. I told them the story of Zacchaeus and we had a good time.

Time passed and I thought things might be winding up, so we headed back to the church. I decided, now that they were calm, that I would take them back to class.  I dropped them off and went back into the church. Wes was concluding his sermon, and challenging the people to put into practice what they had learned. I don't know if anyone could even concentrate because next door the children were screaming. I got up and went next door to see what was happening. The teacher had pretty much given up and was letting the children run wild. I told them all to sit down and we had a talk about why we were in church. I stayed with them the rest of the time and we played follow the leader acting quietly like animals.

I was glad to hear the final singing from the adults, and we made our way to the reception line. When we arrived home, I told Wes I felt like I'd been through the washer. While I was preparing lunch, a song came to my mind that the women had sung a few weeks earlier. I began singing, "Love isn't love till you give it away."  It was then I realized that all these little ones needed was love, and that giving it away can sometimes be exhausting!