I remember standing in the Sunday school room. It was loud. For the fifteen minutes between parent drop-off and the start of the service, rules ceased to exist.
It was like no one cared that we were elementary school kids now.
It was a full-out, snot-flying frenzy. Girls wearing skirts jumped, hopped, and danced in ways you weren’t “supposed to” in a Sunday dress.
Boys chased each other around the room, squealing because their voices hadn’t deepened yet.
Over the noise, I heard the word “homeschooler.”
Two girls that I’d never seen before sat near the center of the room. One of them held prowess, lounging on a small orange piece of furniture. It was like a couch, but with only half of the backrest and bright orange.
All of the seats were reserved for the adults once class started, but like I said, no rules reigned in that fifteen minutes before service.
The other girl, who had pretty black hair, oval eyes, and darker skin, sat on the carpet. “It’s true!” she said. “Homeschoolers never get out.”
I held my mini pink leather purse tight and picked my way through the mess.
“Yes, they do!” the girl on the couch said as I drew closer. “They talk to all sorts of people.”
I took a seat on the black and blue speckled carpet, crossing my legs while I watched the show.
The Asian girl crossed her arms, scooting closer to the couch and pushing her belly up against the side so that she was in the other girl’s face. “No they don’t!”
I laughed and they looked in my direction. “I’m a homeschooler and I go lots of places,” I said.
“See?” the girl on the couch pointed at me. “She just met you, so homeschoolers definitely go places and meet people.”
“No, they don’t.” The Asian girl shook her head.
The girl on the couch shook her head, sending her short brown hair flying. “Then how do you know me?”
“Wait, you’re homeschooled too??” I asked.
“So is she,” the girl on the couch said.
For the rest of the morning, us three girls clustered together. The couch girl and I teamed up to arguing with the third girl about homeschooling.
When my mom picked me up from Sunday school, we walked out of the classroom and down twenty-something odd hallways and a twenty-foot flight of steps into the lobby of the church.
Thousands of people attended our church every Sunday, so there were other families passing up as we climbed down the steps, but I didn’t care.
“Mom, I made a new best friend!” I said.
“Oh really?”
“Yeah, we need to plan a playdate soon, and a sleepover! She said her mom’s okay with it.”
My mom smiled and nodded. “Did you get her mom’s phone number?”
“No…”
My mom’s smile flickered, her eyes big, and I could tell she was worried for me. “Did you give her my phone number?”
“No,” I said, still not getting the point.
My mom asked me a bunch of questions then, and I didn’t know the answers to any of them.
“Is she in your grade?”
“Do you know her last name?”
“Do you know her first name?”
My mom’s face kept getting sadder and sadder as we approached the Sunday school room were my little sister played during services.
My mom pulled me out of the walkway just before we reached the hallway we needed to turn down. She stooped to make eye contact with me. “I’m sorry Vella, but I don’t think you’ll ever see her again.”
And at that moment, at that EXACT moment, guess who walked past us in the hallway?
The girl. And her mom.
Our moms exchanged phone numbers and BOOM–I had a new best friend again.
Final thoughts
I wanted to share this story with you guys because I ran across this friend’s Facebook posts last week.
And you know what?
Even though we haven’t caught up in years, her posts helped me FILL MY LIFE with LIGHT.
And it’s not because she did anything fancy.
We’re both married now (I got married last week!!) and she just had her first baby. Her posts have been about wedding anniversaries and baby showers.
But her stories about what God’s done in her life and her heart of gratitude are light-filled.
So if you’re feeling a little low on light this week, I’d encourage you to connect with a friend, especially one you haven’t seen in awhile. Listen to what God’s doing in their life.
Maybe the story they have to tell you won’t be as wild as the one of how I met Gracie Parker, but if it’s got Jesus’s hand in it, I’m sure it’s good. 🙂
Ready for more LIGHT?
Join my email list! I’d love to send you a free goodie, so use the box below and I’ll send you YouTube and Spotify versions of a playlist that helped me smile more and cry less.