Fairies, Butterflies, and Puppy dogs...

Yesterday I spent the afternoon working at our church’s kid’s booth at Bele Chere painting faces. Let me just say that it was SO MUCH FUN to be part of such a labor of love. Highland is a very missional church with their primary focus being on the city of Asheville. That is one reason why Wes and I fell in love with the church in the first place. They are an “out in the city” doing kind of church rather than a “come and see us” watching kind of church. And we love being part of that body.

Anyways...

Highland has had a booth in the kids section at Bele Chere every year the church has been around. And what a better way to show the love of Christ but by offering something for free....to families....at Bele Chere. And believe me, we are one of the only FREE things to do in the kid’s area. The opportunities to blow money at things like that are everywhere! Especially in the kids area. I was about grossed out by the line I saw for the $10 green aliens...I mean, really?

(*for those of you that are reading that don’t know what Bele Chere is: a festival in downtown Asheville that takes place every July. The whole city shuts down for this thing. It is a big deal every year.*)

I have to say that the best part of helping out was the ‘surprised’ reactions I got from people when they found out it was free. I had people trying to tip me and give me money because they just couldn’t believe it really was for free....to which I was able to just politely decline and say no. Now, that was fun.

I even had one lady ask, “Who are you people?” To which I got to share with her that we were a church, working together, and just sharing the love of Christ through crafts and face painting.
It was a simple act of love really.....and so much fun.

Anyways...


I got to the booth for my shift and was instantly....um....a bit intimidated..and impressed. Highland is FULL of really amazing artists...and the faces coming out of there were pretty amazing for ‘just being volunteers’...we weren’t talking about ladybugs and hearts on their faces...there were superheroes and eagles and butterflies and tigers....Very cool stuff.

But I quickly saw that I wouldn’t be left out on my own to paint whatever the child wanted... I was very thankful that I had a page of the things that the kids could choose from...and with just those things....and with some practice...well, I could do most of them....



Unfortunatly, there was no time to practice...and with no practice at all.... I wasn’t so sure my 'tiger' or 'butterfly' face would actually come out looking like a tiger or butterfly.
*Labor of love, labor of love*...I had to keep reminding myself of that. Still, it made me a bit nervous for the first few victims that were put in my seat.

Anyways, without too much time to think much about it, I was put in Mrs. Sue’s seat to relieve her (the children’s director)....


*Let me just say that I believe Mrs. Sue got several jewels in her crown this weekend as she had literally been at Bele Chere at the kids booth for MOST of the weekend....and she was still so nice to each person coming through...I mean, I had only been there a few hours and the screaming children inside the building was already getting to me. She is a truly amazing woman...and quickly becoming one of my heroes....her heart for ‘the next generation’ is so very inspiring. I want to be like her when I grow up.*

*back to the story*

OK, paintbrush in hand...OFF I GO!

So, my first little customer sits down in front of me and her mom says,
“She wants a 'fairy face'”.
Ok, ‘fairy face’... I can do this. ‘You can do this Heather’....

I had to keep re-assuring myself, as I nervously looked for the ‘fairy face’ on my cheat sheet page.

Well, this little girl wasn’t a bit over 2 years old...3 at the oldest, and I believe her mama wanted her face painted WAY more than she did because of course, I start in with the first stroke of my brush and the little girl bursts into tears.

Yep, and she proceeded to cry through the whole thing...

Nothing like getting broken in really fast! YOU try painting a ‘fairy face’ with tears and snot running down the face. Let’s just say, by the time I was done, ‘fairy face’ should have been renamed ‘scary face’.... she ended up looking more like a beat up....clown....with glitter....that needed a Kleenex....it was disturbing at best.

BUT surprisingly, mama was happy. And that was all that mattered.

*it was almost comical though, because when I showed the little girl her face in the mirror once I was finished, she stopped crying for just a minute, realized what I had done to her face, and the tears started up worse then before....It was ok though, my feelings weren’t hurt in the slightest...I would have cried too....let me tell you, she was defiantly my “practice round”*

But there was no time to worry about that as the line was sooo long...So I chalk that one up to ‘experience’ and move on.....*deep breath* “OK, NEXT!”

And my next little customer...this little boy....well, he is the one I intended to write about when I started this longwinded blog... because I can’t get him out of my mind or off my heart this morning.

I motioned for the next person in line to come over and the cutest and shyest little black boy sits down in front of me. He asked for the ‘puppy dog face’.
“Ok, good”, I thought... “I can do ‘puppy dog face’. Black spots and whiskers...easy”.

However, as I began to blacken one eye to make him look like ‘Spot’, I notice that his eye was a bit puffy and green. He grimaced as my paintbrush stroked over the bruise. Because his skin was dark already, I didn’t notice it at first or I would not have used that eye as his ‘spot’ eye. But it was too late.

I stopped and just kind of looked. I noticed that he instantly cut his eyes the direction of his mother who was standing right outside the rope stanchions texting on her phone as she was waiting on him. She never looked up from her phone.

Now, I don’t know his situation or where he got that black eye....He could have fallen out of a tree or been hit by a ball for all I REALLY know. Who am I to judge?

But the way he got... nervous....when I discovered his eye...and the way he instantly cut his eyes over towards his mama....my gut was just telling me something that I just couldn’t shake. And still can’t today.

I prayed my way through his face painting. I prayed for him. And I have prayed and prayed and prayed for him this morning. Maybe it wasn’t anything....then again...maybe it was. And I was supposed to pray for him.
Either way, that little guy is covered today.
Don’t know his name. But I can still see his face. And that eye. And all I know is that maybe I was there yesterday, so I can remember to pray for him today.

Maybe, I was put there because the Lord knew that I would notice. Maybe that time slot was the only one that worked in my weekend to volunteer because of that one little boy that somehow ended up in MY seat.
Kind of took my breath away as I drove home thinking about it.

Now don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the 50 million other faces that I painted in my 4 hour time slot (*slight exaggeration...more like 40 million...but you get the point*).... but somehow, that is the ONE that I can remember today.

I say all that to say that even in something as simple as volunteering for ‘face painting’, God has a plan for you that is more than what you think it is. You never know who the Lord will put in your path when you offer yourself up to His work. As silly as “face painting” may sound to some of you being considered ‘the Lord’s work’, it was indeed His work for me yesterday....and so much more.

So I dedicate this blog to the little puppy dog out there... whatever his little life may entail....that God is with him today.