unHOLY Fridays: UNshaken (my confession)

Recently I attended a showing of the Broadway classic Les Miserables.  It wasn't, however, on Broadway.  It was done by a community theatre group of children and youth. Some of the kids have been in dozens of shows. Some of the kids were quite new to the whole theatre scene.

As far as community theatre goes, this show had a few more hiccups than one might hope. It was closing night, and the run had been pretty solid to that point. Their glitches had been minimal. But of course, I wasn't at the other shows. I was at the final show.

The show started off well. Some great voices. Some enjoyable young personalities. And then some glitches began to creep in. They were mostly small and relatively unnoticeable. A mic glitch. Some technical things that just happen no matter how prepared you are. Those types of things.

It was almost to the intermission when the young girl playing Eponine - a fairly major role - suffered some type of respiratory problem. She coughed and sputtered and collapsed to the floor.  There was an early intermission taken. An ambulance was called. Things didn't look great.

I'll be honest. I thought we would be sent home. It was a youth theatre production - there aren't understudies.  The cast is the cast. However, the director stepped in...and the show went on.

The kids didn't miss a beat. They were completely unshaken by the circumstances. You'd think that a group of young teens would be on edge, nervous, worried, or just plain spun for a loop. But these kids went on like pros. Despite the hiccups and despite a fairly serious circumstance with one of the lead characters - and one of their friends - the kids rocked the remainder of the show. Unshaken.

I'd like to think that I have that kind of faith. The "lead-character-goes-down-and-I-don't-even-blink" kind of faith.  The "I-meet-so-many-roadblocks-it-doesn't-even-faze-me-anymore" kind of faith. But I'm not sure that I am always entirely unshakable.

My confession is this: I have a bad day and I question God's motives. I go through a trying time and I ask God why and what I'm supposed to be learning, but am frustrated and annoyed while I do. When negative things come my way, it often appears as though I'm easy going and playing it cool, but my inner-dialogue with God is anything but easy going.

So my prayer is that I (and you too!) can be more like those kids on the stage - unshaken by circumstances. Ready and willing to continue on with "the show".  Not spun for a loop when the negative things, unfortunate situations, or messy life circumstances come my way.

And so, I wish to remind myself the words of King David when he said:

I see that the LORD is always with me.
      I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. 

He is always near. I need not be shaken.