Articulating Thoughts

I spent the weekend at a town a few hours away from where we live. I had enrolled Laughing Water in a seminar that teaches young people to effectively communicate in the public speaking arena. We learned that only 5% of people feel comfortable speaking in front of a group. That gives pause for thought when you consider that each of us has things we could share with others - be it a cause, knowledge of a specific subject, or life-saving information, (maybe even the Gospel?)
Now, Laughing Water is one of those gregarious souls who loves talking to people - one at a time. She could talk to anyone about anything for any amount of time. (The child spent many hours of her summer selling books door-to-door with her church group and LOVED it.) But the thought of talking to a group of people truly frightened her. We arrived the morning of the seminar in a frightful state of mind. I could barely coax her out of the car.
I was delighted with the young people that led out in the seminar, however. They were an amazing group of people with an energy level and a zest for God that was contagious. Laughing Water had a nice time. She even volunteered to recite her poem twice for her small group.
I attended some of the parent workshops and was struck with the importance of teaching our children to know what they believe and articulate their thoughts. There were very young folks there who have taken on big issues and are not afraid to give a voice for those less fortunate. Two of the interns working with our younger ones have taken on the subject of human traficking. They research, lecture and raise funds. We're talking 17 year-olds. Another young teen-attendee is currently doing research for a medical doctor who is scheduled to debate the sanctity of life vs. euthanasia.
It wasn't all heavy stuff. One intern simply wowed the audience with an interpretation of the poem, "Oh, the Places You'll Go". He has us shrieking with delight.
Once again, I was reminded that our children will rise to the level of whatever mental food we place before them. Whatever our personal choice for their system of education, we simply cannot afford to provide them with mediocre mental food or role models.

Nanette