Vocational Discernment....and Chalk

This past weekend I found myself unexpectedly in awe. For me, one thing that is even more thrilling and profound than witnessing something awesome is to be present with others when they see it too. Specifically, there are few things more completely and totally humbling than to look over in the midst of a moment like that to see my 12 year old boy on the edge of his seat leaning forward with wide eyes. One of the blessings of parenthood is not just teaching our children, it is learning alongside them.

Chalk artist and "Messy Preacher" Ben Glenn made a visit to our little town of Lamoni, IA this weekend for homecoming. I wasn't sure what to expect and didn't know if my son would enjoy the show. My son wasn't super pumped about the prospect of going. He had a friend over and they were having a great time being 12 year old boys. My handsome husband however (who seems to know more about 12 year old boys than I do) strongly urged them to give it 20 minutes. If they didn't like it, they could leave.

Five minutes later we were happy to discover 3 open seats right in the front row. Boy did we luck out.

Ben, the 6 foot 4 inch self dubbed "Sasquatch" opened his show with a bang. He turned up some great music and the house lights went down. He walked up to a huge black canvass, put on an industrial mask, grabbed some very brightly colored chalk and went to town.

I've never seen an artist work so fast.

In a little over twelve minutes he had turned what had started out as bold scribbles of color into an incredibly vibrant mountain and lake scene. It was amazing to watch.

When he had finished, he removed the mask and turned to face the audience. Mopping sweat from his brow and casually removing as much chalk as he could from his hands he started to tell us that he had ADHD and any day he got to get messy was a good one. He let us know we were in for a wild ride.

Boy was he ever right!

The rest of the evening was filled with incredible and inspirational stories about his personal life and struggle with ADHD and other learning disabilities. He talked about the first time he climbed a mountain, being a parent to children that were also ADHD, and the teachers in his life that had made a difference.

He was an engaging, interesting, and entertaining storyteller. He had us laughing one minute and breathless the next. I can't believe there was one person in the room that didn't walk away deeply affected and completely inspired.

Here was a man that despite incredible odds had found a niche. His gifts were far more powerful than anything that may have held him back academically. To me, one whose job it is to assist students with finding a niche of their own, his was a great success story.

In overcoming fear and taking a leap of faith he allowed himself to come into his own. He is a great example of the blessings we are able to give if we find in ourselves the strength to become who we are meant to be.

After the show my son turned to me and said, "What am I?" I laughed because my son also has a learning disability and clearly had never heard anyone give voice to his personal struggle like Ben did. Ben's letters, ADD, ADHD, LD (and on and on!) were like a badge that automatically put him in the same club with my son.

I don't think anyone had ever made ADHD or a learning disability sound so cool before!

Afterwards, we were able to have a long conversation about how his learning difference was not going to prevent him from finding his own niche and heeding his own call.

Ben Glenn is not just a great speaker, storyteller and artist. He is a great example of active listening and vocational discernment.

If you ever have a chance to see him in person I highly recommend it. If you happen to be the parent of a child that struggles in school or has been diagnosed with a learning disability or other unfortunate label, I recommend you bring them too.

I love to watch the sun shine.

It was surprisingly awesome to see it happen in chalk.

The Messy Preacher- Ben Glenn