a good kind of love

Nikki is a single mother of three... Atiya, Devin, and Naima, the first two are stars in this years movie class. Naima is not old enough to be in the class yet, but she attends every week, why, because her mom brings her. Nikki sits in and supervises every single class and stays there to be a part of what her kids are doing. She could walk home with her youngest one, she's only a few houses away from Breakthrough, but she stays. At first I was nervous of the scrutiny. In most of the cases the parents just let their kids run out the door, and often try to add their cousins and siblings also, but Nikki hasn't missed a single movie class. Three weeks ago at movie class she was exhausted with a cold, and was in the middle of doing laundry for those kids... I couldn't even imagine it, but she was there.

A few Saturdays ago at a film shoot her daughter was in a scuffle with another kid. She called me that night to try to figure out what was going on and what the plan of action would be, turns out the other kid is in her class at school and has been a problem for months now. She asked for that child's number and who her parents were. I knew that from previous attempts it was going to be really hard to get a hold of her parents, and I couldn't help but feel a little hopeless about it. I told her that we would support her and make every effort to back her up in what she chose to do. She wasn't able to get a hold of the other child's family over the phone, but saw did her at school the next day and had a talk with her, not much in the way of progress though.

The next movie class the following Tuesday we were talking about Mother relationships and the role they have in the family (this year's theme is the family). I had asked Nikki months before to share a testimony about how she provides for her kids and what redeeming love was. We screened "Madea's Family Reunion", showing clips of how Madea fosters a child, gives her provision, and ultimately redeems her life, making her one of the family. Nikki shared how she was alone as a single mother, and on disability, that when there is just one cookie left, it goes to her kids... She talked about how God had used her Grandmother and mother to show her what a Godly women was like. Her life lesson she says was "always keep your object in view" meaning not to loose sight of what was important. Her daughter Atiya sat in the front beaming with pride. I looked over at the girl she had been fighting with, she was hanging on her every word.

The kids listened to her with intent and wonder (more attention than I seem to get). At the end one of the youngest girls raised her hand and asked, "Mrs. Nikki, what is the biggest challenge of being a mother." That's when she explained that she had MS, and was always scared that at any time she could loose control of her nervous system and control of her body. I had no idea, I was stunned. Yet there she is every week, sitting at the back of the class room holding her youngest daughter, waiting until she's old enough to be in the acting games. What a call God has put on this women's life, I question how I would I hold up under those circumstances, I doubt as well and with as much hope and faith that Nikki displays.

This past weekend we had another shoot with the same group of kids. We had prayed that God would heal the situation between Nikki's daughter and the other child in the group. I had talked with both of them the week before and finally said, "listen, you don't even have to like each other or be friends, but you have to figure out a way to work together to get this movie made." During the lunch break the two of them went off together and sat down to have pizza... I overheard them gossiping about another girl at school (I let it slide because at least they were talking). I asked them, "So what's up, every thing cool with you guys?" they just shrugged and acted like I was a fool for asking. I looked over at the other volunteers who also had been working with the situation and none of us could believe what was going on. It seems, miraculously, that they just decided to be friends,

I know God had heard our prayers, but I'm also sure that it was the love of a mother, somehow in the way those kids were listening to a loving mother talk about how she can't control her own body, but would give anything for her kids... somehow it redeemed that relationship. I can't explain why I think that, but there is something about sacrificial love that makes the broken whole...