I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Imagine...it’s your 3rd birthday, you are really excited about turning 3 and you can’t wait for your party. You are so excited, you are telling your neighbors, who you don’t really know, across a fence you climbed, that tomorrow is your birthday and you are going to be 3 and you are having a party. The only thing is, your mom is telling those same neighbors, there will be no friends, and maybe no family coming to your party because of something going on that you don’t understand. Some kind of thing in the air that could get people sick and now everyone has to stay home because of it. This would be a crazy story if it were not happening in our world today. This actually happened to my wife and I a few weeks ago and we were the neighbors in the story. A rambunctious, blond headed, 2 year old girl named Sadie telling us across the fence that her birthday was tomorrow and her mom telling us they were having a party and they were hoping that family would show up.

I don’t remember my 3rd birthday. It was 47 years ago and I was only 3 so don’t judge. But, I can tell you that I am pretty sure that if we were Sadie, we would be sad if no one showed up to our 3rd birthday party. I mean, no people equals no games equals no fun and most importantly, equals no presents, and that is what birthdays are all about for kids! As a matter of fact, it is the same for pretty much any birthday. Most of us enjoy having our friends and family around to celebrate another trip around the sun, getting gifts and eating cake and ice cream (unless you are a woman, then for some reason birthdays stop at 29). The point is, birthdays are special events that we all have and kids especially look forward to them when they come around. And during this pandemic, all kinds of celebrations are being affected.

OK...back to the story.

When Sadie and her mom told us all this, my heart went out. Inside I was telling myself, this little girl should get to have a great birthday no matter what the crisis is. It is not fair that she can’t have this special time because of what is going on with this virus. I guess this is where the “dad” rose up in me. If this were any of my 3 boys at that age, I would want them to have a day to remember. I would do everything I could to make it happen. As we walked away,, I told Susan, “We have to get her something for her birthday. A gift card for ice cream would be good, every kid likes ice cream”. Susan agreed and later on that afternoon, we picked up a $15 gift card to DQ so mom, dad and Sadie could go get ice cream and have some family time together.

The next day while we were outside, we noticed Sadie and her parents in the backyard decorating for the party. When Sadie saw us, she ran to the fence to show us her birthday dress, looked up at us, smiled, and said, “I’m 3 today”. We both told her happy birthday, and that she looked adorable in her dress. We then told her that we had a couple of things for her for your birthday. Her mom and dad looked at us and said, “What?” Susan took this tiara that we had and placed it on Sadie’s head and said, “Now you are a princess on your special day!” Sadie smiled as she looked at her mom and dad and said, “Look I’m a princess!” Susan then handed her the gift card for DQ and told her to take mom and dad out to get some ice cream sometime. Her face lit up as she said, “We can get ice cream”.

Both mom and dad looked at Susan and I and told us, “You didn’t need to do that”. We told them we wanted to because Sadie is such a bundle of joy and we love watching her play outside when we are in our backyard. They couldn’t believe that strangers would just do something like this, especially in times like these. They stated this isn’t normally what people do for other people if they don’t know them. Susan and I told them that we are missing the 40 to 50 kids we were seeing every week at church. We explained that we are the Family Life Pastors at our church and this virus has separated our church family just like it has separated regular families. We just wanted Sadie to have a great birthday just like we would want our own kids or our church kids to have a great birthday. I told them I have lived most of my life not being normal and that being a blessing and loving people is just what is in our hearts.

That’s a cute story, now what?

We see multiple times in the Gospels that Jesus looked at the people who were around Him and seeing their circumstance He was, “Moved with compassion”. This compassion led him to do what was needed at that time for those people. (Matthew 9, 14, 18 & Mark 1 & 6)

Galatians 5:14 TLB says, “For the whole Law can be summed up in this one command: “Love others as you love yourself.”

Christians should be moved with compassion for people like Jesus was. We should be living a life of love by loving others as we love ourselves. It really is that simple. Showing love to the world around us is showing them Jesus.

You are equipped for doing good works!

2 Corinthians 9:8 NKJV says’ “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

Ephesians 2:10 NKJV says’ “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Look at the people around you, look for ways to be a blessing to someone! You were hand made by God to do good works! Be willing to see what is needed at that time to show love to others. You never know, that little thing you do for someone may be the seed that brings them to knowing Jesus.

How did Sadie’s party go? I’m glad you asked. They had a number of family members show up, grandparents, aunts, uncles and all kinds of gifts. As a matter of fact, 3 year old Sadie celebrated by sliding down her new slip-n-slide...naked!

Pastor Andy