“Your
religion, status or gender doesn’t matter; you’re all the same in Christ."
~ Galatians 3:28
An early morning sun flooded
Brandon’s bedroom, illuminating a neat pile of new clothes and ‘slick’
sneakers. He’d been awake for nearly two
hours, just lying there thinking about the exciting day ahead. Brandon dressed quickly, stopping briefly to
admire himself in the mirror. He had to
admit, he looked pretty smart!
So excited, the boy hardly touched his favorite cereal, and
kept looking at the clock to make sure the school bus wouldn’t leave without
him. He’d waited his whole life for this
day! Later, as they scampered off the
bus, Miss Sanders welcomed the kinder-garteners to her classroom for their
first day of school.
Brandon was ready; his crayons dared him to begin! He immediately pulled the most brilliant colors
from his box and began drawing. To him
the world burst with color; no rules as to which should apply to what. Cows were purple, grass was blue, and flowers
– well, they were any color one could imagine.
Miss Sanders quickly intervened, noting that it wasn’t time
yet to draw. Besides, she explained,
“Trees and flowers are NOT that color!”
Technically she was right.
There must be a sense of order to education. She’d seen this before. The “cool” kids would reject him because everyone
else was wearing blue backpacks and white shoelaces. Real roses are red with green stems. He’ll fall in line.
Brandon politely disagreed.
“But rainbows have so many colors,” he insisted, “I like to use every
one!” He continued to color objects from
his imagination until one day Miss Sanders punished him by standing him in a
corner. The boy who saw vibrant colors
was forced to abandon every hue to survive in a world that wouldn’t accept his
vision.
Eventually Brandon surrendered. With a terrible sadness in his voice, he told
Miss Sanders that “Flowers are red, skies are blue, and the grass is always green.”
The next year, a more experienced, inspiring teacher
encouraged him to be more creative. But
it was too late. He’d forever reside in
a world of limited choice, where the only flowers are red roses with green
stems.
As an adult, Brandon will report to work; then come home and
dream of great things in the middle of the night. A car that runs on pure oxygen; free
electricity captured from lightening; a social system which encourages
self-sustenance while maintaining individual freedom.
Excitedly, he’ll jot down a note or two, even make a plan,
but with the light of day he’ll realize that everyone else is wearing blue
backpacks and white shoelaces. Brandon will
toss his notes in the garbage, forget his plan and sit in his corner at work
reminding himself that flowers are red with green stems, and skies are only
blue. What a pity.
Lord Jesus, creator of all races and
ethnicities, help us build a more just community, where ‘difference’ is
respected and where we can all join hands rejoice in the common good. Amen
