Yep, you read that right. Ryan and I have lost it. It’s been in progress for a few months, but it finally happened. We put up a rock climbing wall in our Kids Church room.

I know. You just read that and went “WHAT?!?!? They are crazy!” Yes, we know. It’s a small one, and you have to climb on it horizontally instead of vertically, but the kids love it. And amazingly, they’re actually not too rough with it. (Yours truly has not yet attempted the wall. I don’t think it would be pretty.) It is a lot of fun for the kids. This last Sunday, all in all, reminded me of a few things:

1. Kids love having fun. What’s coolest about the rock climbing wall is that the kids are enthralled with it. They’re going to find their friends and telling them to come see the new rock climbing wall. The line can get really long. It’s something that’s just so cool for them they have to remark about it to someone else.

2. Kids can be serious! At the same time I see how much kids love fun, I’m reminded of how serious kids can be. On the same Sunday that we premiered the rock climbing wall, we tried communion for the first time with the kids (as Ryan has already talked about). Kids have this amazing capability to recognize what is to be taken seriously, and can act accordingly. All too often we seem to overlook the fact that kids can be serious. We try and make things all about fun, when we’re really neglecting a part of kids they have, albeit maybe not showing it very often.

3. Kids have this crazy capability to love. There are those Sundays that you’re just totally reminded that what you do is not about you, and that you couldn’t even do it all by yourself. This Sunday I had some really cool, albeit short, “moments” with some of the older boys in our Kids Church who tend to cause some trouble. One of them asked me if I was doing a skit today, and I ended up sitting down with him and chatting with him about school and how his week went. Another boy came over after church and said thank you and shook my hand. Trust me, without the grace of God those kids wouldn’t even care who I am. It’s very sobering when you realize that these kids are watching your life.

So those are the things I’ve been reminded about kids this week. Anything you’d like to add? Let me know in the comments.

P.S. OK, I am sharing something with you I have never shared with another living soul outside of my circle of friends. Talking about skits in this post made me think about a skit I did a few weeks ago. Let’s just say that my character, “Wally Wally Washington”, bore a very striking resemblance to another very famous teen star from Montana. I think her first name might be Hannah? Needless to say, having the best of both worlds is a great way to remind the kids that nobody’s perfect. I kind of made a total fool of myself (but I’m used to that). You must never tell another person that I told you this or we will have to find you and punish you. This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds.