Group Hug

Have you ever had one of those moments when nobody would make eye contact and stepped back…..

I did so the other Friday….

The Friday Annaleigh passed away…….

I arrived at the office midday to check on things….

There was nothing to check on but still I needed to check…..

Pulling into the parking lot I was happy to see all the Conroe Christian School kids playing on the concrete….

When I got out of the car….

Everybody got quiet…

Balls stopped bouncing…..

Swings stopped swinging….

And a cloud descended on the parking lot….

I waved and said hi to the kids…..

They all withdrew….

They wouldn’t look at me…..

Immediately I knew that the kids were sad over the death of our sweet Annaleigh…..

They still loved me….

They already missed the baby….

And none of them knew how to handle the emotions of the moment when I arrived….

So they withdrew….

They dropped their eyes…..

Their adolescent emotions just did not know how to handle the moment…..

So I hollered at all of them…..

OK kids….

Everybody come here….

Everybody come here and gather close…..

Everybody hug me…..

I reassured the kids that it was OK to have these emotions……

I told them to not be afraid of my family…..

I told them the answer to such emotions was a great big….

Group Hug!!!

Hugs, giggles & sniffles echoed on the parking lot…..

Heads came up….

Smiles appeared…..

The moment passed……

But my observation is this….

This is not just an adolescent problem on the playground….

This is also a big people issue in life…..

We avoid…

We withdraw…..

We tell ourselves they have plenty of others around them….

We show up at funerals but we leave before the cemetery and head to a restaurant and catch up with our friends…..

I know….

I have mastered this….

But I pledge that I will be different….

That group hug on the parking lot with the Junior High kids taught me something…..

Somebody came to town last week just to give us a hug….

I have no intention of hugging them back….

But soon…..

I will pass that hug along…..

I intend to multiply that single hug……

And that group hug…..

I plan to share that one too…..

rks