And on Wednesday evening, AJ will join the countless children who have gone before him in this time-honored tradition. He will march in line (hopefully) along with the rest of the Sunday School children, to take his place on stage for our church's Christmas program.
A friend talked me into helping with this year's performance. Initially, as they were assigning speaking roles, I said 'no way' to the idea of handing AJ a microphone in front of hundreds of people. But as the pool of children dwindled, and numerous speaking parts remained, I relented and chose a line I hoped he could handle.
His ability to memorize has impressed and, quite honestly, amazed me. But then at practice last weekend he froze up when it came his turn to speak. Over the course of the week, I've had him say his line once each evening. He's nailed it every time, and I've praised him profusely.
That seems to have been all the reassurance he needed. At yesterday's third and final practice, AJ hesitantly stepped forward and began. Stretching on his tip toes to reach the mic, he recited his line. His delivery was soft and a bit halting, but he didn't miss a word, "In Baptism... Jesus comes to us... and makes us his own dear children. Washing away are sin... and giving us... the gift... of faith."
And then, perhaps because he was unsure what to do next, or perhaps just because he's AJ and couldn't possibly leave the stage without making people smile... AJ stretched up on his tip toes one more time and proclaimed, "Amen."
I think it's safe to say, at this point, I'm more nervous than AJ is.
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