“Pssst-are we allowed to bathe the infants in the kitchen sink?” I heard this as I was attempting to read a story to our preschool class. I turned to see a caretaker with the filthiest lil’ brunette boy on her hip. The dirt and residue had been on his chubby arms for so long that a rash had emerged beneath the grime. Trying to preserve his dignity by controlling my face, I smiled, passed the book onto my assistant and joined them in the hall.
“Come again?” I said.
“He’s just really dirty, and his odor is, well-you can smell it, I’m sure.” She said this while gently swaying this oddly happy baby. “His bottom is caked inside of his diaper, just caked-as if it hasn’t been changed in a while; so we were thinking we could bathe him real quick in the church kitchen?”
“Sure.” I said, “I will call the mom and let her know. Also-slap some diaper cream on his bottom, please.”
I shook my head in disbelief as she walked away. She then turned back and said, “Oh, one more thing. His lunch today is a half-eaten Taco Bell burrito. Can you ask the mom how she expects us to serve that to her eight-month-old?” My heart dropped. What was already an uncomfortable conversation with the mom, just got more uncomfortable.
This is what we do in children’s ministry, right? Yes! We do whatever it takes-pray mercilessly for our kids, stay late to prep lessons, Prezis at board meetings, shift teammates to best honor their gifts, and oh-yea-pretend to be unshakably bold. Whatever it takes to lead these kids closer to the healing grace of Christ-WE WILL DO IT! Why? Because we were made to live in no other way, to serve in no other way but this. Why do we do it? Because we are called. We are called to serve the Bluebonnet Children.
So I picked up the phone.
“Hi, Leslie, It’s Meg from Kids’ Day In,” I said.
“Yea,” the lower-income, teen mom said over the TV noise in the background.
“I hope you are well. Jeremy is doing fine. He is so happy today,” I said. (Butter ‘em up before the blow-right?)
“Yea.” She murmured again.
“I was calling because I was curious about Jeremy’s bath schedule.” I bravely said.
“Yea, he gets baths,” she nonchalantly replied.
“Great. Well, today his caretakers thought it would be helpful to give ‘em an extra one due to his odor, and he seemed to have some dirt on his arms. So if it’s ok with you, they are going to bathe him in the sink.” Whew- I got that part out.
“Yea.” She, obviously, could care less.
“Also, I am sure your family is good in this area.” My nerves were starting to get the best of me. “But, if ever you guys need help with water bills and such, our office can help with that.”
“We got water.” An inflection change was present in her tone. “Sure, sure, sure, well just in case you ever need that, we are here to help you.” I practically exhaled these words.
“Yea. We’re good,” she shared.
“Awesome. Also, Leslie, how would you like us to feed Jeremy today?”
“I left a burrito in his bag,” she said.
“Yes, we saw that. I am wondering if he might enjoy a jar of baby food better.” I began to realize that she thought this was an appropriate meal for an infant.
“If you guys have some, give ‘em one,” she blurted.
At this point in the conversation, a rush of gumption filled my soul. I had to fight for this little guy…
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✌Meg