When the levee breaks …
Written by Ken Leslie | | column@toledofreepress.com“If it keeps on rainin’, levee’s goin’ to break, when the levee breaks I’ll have no place to stay.” – Led Zeppelin
Thank you, Jenifer Christiaanse, for your Nov. 8 column on Tent City. It was a lesson well learned for all of us.
From my perspective the story goes like this: Friday night brings this pretty remarkable, cheery group of people from Emmanuel Baptist Christian Church down to Tent City to spend the night. How cool is that?
I cherished them immediately because the leaders clearly wanted the kids to do more than just serve a sandwich. As opposed to the lesson of getting jelly on their favorite hoody, these parents wanted the children to learn the harder life lessons only discomfort can teach. The kind of lessons that seep to the marrow and remain forever in our hearts and souls. Forever.
And as the leaders had to stay overnight as well, I recognized how powerful the parents themselves are as teachers, essentially saying “Learn from what I DO.”
They provided great entertainment for all as they animatedly erected all of thier tents to protect themselves from the elements. We all knew a big storm was coming and battened down all the hatches. We, the TC volunteers then started a wagering pool on how many of the tents out back with kids and youth groups would remain standing after the storm.
“Now, cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do you no good,
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move.” – LZ
Then it hit. The TC volunteer leadership realized the storms power when the big tent we were in lifted off the ground. We ran to the back to watch what mayhem may ensue to see kids scrambling out of tents left and right. It reminded us of the scatter of cockroaches when you turn on the light.
To the left were two valiant fathers struggling to hold their empty tent down. Perhaps it was only when they recognized the futility of wrestling with God they finally let go.
I had fully expected the group to go home as had some from other youth groups, but this group decided to bed down in the entertainment tent.
I remember one student starting to whine about the decision, but another said “Shut up, how would you like to live out here all the time?”
Message delivered, eh?
So to all at Emmanuel Baptist, your lessons taught us all. To Jenifer Christiaanse, thank you for putting your eyes into words so others might see.
“Don’t it make you feel bad
When you’re tryin’ to find your way home,
You don’t know which way to go?” – LZ
Ken Leslie is the founder of Tent City.
