The Rewards of the Supporting Player

Recently my daughters, 5- & 7-years-old, had the opportunity to be a part of the children’s musical here at BUMC. My oldest daughter was thrilled with the idea of being in the musical and knew right away she wanted to be one of the angels in the production. I wanted to encourage her, but also felt the need to prepare her for the possibility that she might not attain her coveted part. As I suspected might happen, the cast list came out and she was not awarded a role as an angel. She was to be a member of the chorus. She was very disappointed and I feared that she would not want to be a part of the production if she could not have a named part. We had a discussion about the importance of the choir and that everyone needed to work together to make a good musical and all of those things we say as parents at moments like these. And fortunately, without much resistance, she embraced the opportunity to be part of the choir.

As we left the post-performance cast party the night of the production she made this comment to me: “Those are really some wonderful people, I hope I get to work with them again.” Originally I snickered at the diva tone of this comment, but as I thought about it, that statement showed me that we don’t always need to be the lead on a project to feel reward and that there is reward in being a part of something, being in community with others. I hope that we all can find something to be a part of that will bring you as much joy as my daughter found in being a part of the musical.

I think of the joy I receive being a part of the many activities that support the inner workings of BUMC and those things we support to help our community and world around us. If you would like to experience these joyous feelings of community and desire to find ways to get connected, let us know. We are here to help. Here at BUMC, fall kicks off all kinds of opportunities to be involved in small group studies, social activities, and many outreach opportunities also.

Do any of you have stories of disappointment relating to not receiving something you really wanted (like the role of an angel in the church play), but it turned out to be okay and rewarding in the end?

-- Nancy