Through the eyes of a child

Tuesday, September 24, 2002
Renae Bottom

Quite a few years ago, I taught Sunday school at the small church where we attended. I led the preschool class. Every Sunday morning, while I readied my supplies, I listened to the children having "song time" in the adjoining room.

They clapped along with "This Little Light of Mine" and other Sunday standards. They did actions, stomping their feet and snapping their fingers. I always enjoyed overhearing them.

At the end of song time, the leader would ask if anyone had "special concerns." That was my cue to finish quickly, passing out activity books, snacks and crayons. In a few minutes, my six students would arrive at the door.

The particular morning I'm thinking of was during the Christmas season. All the children were excited about the approaching holiday. They sang their carols with gusto and seemed happy just to be alive.

I was still passing out books and coloring sheets when I heard the leader ask for special concerns. A little girl, whose voice I recognized as belonging to one of my preschoolers, said she indeed had something on her mind.

She was worried about Dolly Parton. She had seen the Dolly Parton Christmas Special on television the night before. It was set in Hawaii. She was still thinking about Dolly that morning, wondering if the group could ask Divine protection for the singer's safe return home "on the airplane."

I stopped short, holding back a laugh. It was too cute. I had seen a few minutes of the same Christmas special. The program had obviously been filmed well before the Holiday season, so it could air in early December.

Dolly was undoubtedly long since safe at home, preparing for her own Christmas celebration or perhaps performing live at Las Vegas for all I know. My little preschooler didn't share that insight, though. To her, the Christmas special had aired in real time and Dolly would be flying back that day.

Coloring sheets in hand, I waited to hear what the song leader would do. Thank goodness she was a seasoned veteran. She came through with flying colors.

Never missing a beat, she led the most heartfelt expression of concern for Dolly Parton's return flight to the USA that you've ever heard. A few other concerns were handled just as gracefully and the students were dismissed.

My six small charges filed into the room, all beaming and happy to be alive during the Christmas season. Wherever she was at the time, Dolly Parton must have felt a special nod from the general direction of heaven.

Little did the country superstar suspect, that somewhere in a small church on the corner of a quiet street, a little girl had just sent up a few good words on her behalf.

I don't recall that little girl's name now, but I'll never forget her blonde hair and bright eyes. And I'll never forget the Sunday morning when she saw fit to take Dolly Parton's future into her own intimate circle of concern.

I think of that morning now and then, when the weather turns crisp and I start counting the days until I can fill the house with carols. It reminds me of this fact--that if simple belief and selfless concern reside anywhere during this cynical age, it's in the hearts of children. That's the way it's always been, I guess, and the way it should be.

So I remember Dolly Parton, and the way a little girl, a tuned-in song leader, and a "special concern" made my day, so many years ago.

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