This past weekend I found myself unexpectedly in awe. For me, one thing that is even more exciting and profound than witnessing something amazing is being present with others when they see it too. Specifically, there are few things more completely and utterly sobering than to look at in the middle of a moment like that and see my 12-year-old son on the edge of his seat leaning forward with wide eyes. One of the blessings of parenthood is not just teaching our children, it’s learning alongside them.
Chalk artist and “messy preacher” Ben Glenn visited our small town of Lamoni, IA this weekend to celebrate his homecoming. He wasn’t sure what to expect and didn’t know if my son would enjoy the show. My son was not very excited about the prospect of going. He had a friend and they were having a great time being 12 year olds. However, my handsome husband (who seems to know more about 12 year olds than I do) strongly urged them to give him 20 minutes. If they didn’t like it, they could leave.
Five minutes later, we’re glad to discover 3 free seats right in the front row. Boy were we lucky.
Ben, the 6-foot-4 self-described “Sasquatch,” opened his show with a bang. He put on some good music and the lights in the house went out. He walked up to a huge black canvas, put on an industrial mask, picked up some very bright colored chalks, and went into town.
I have never seen an artist work so fast.
In just over twelve minutes he had turned what had started as bold scribbles of color into an incredibly vibrant scene of mountains and lakes. It’s been amazing to watch.
When he was done, he removed his mask and turned to the audience. Wiping sweat from his brow and casually brushing as much chalk as he could off his hands, he began to tell us that he had ADHD and that any day he got dirty was a good day. He let us know we were in for a wild ride.
Boy was he ever right!
The rest of the night was filled with incredible and inspiring stories about his personal life and his struggle with ADHD and other learning disabilities. He talked about the first time he climbed a mountain, being a father to children who also had ADHD, and the teachers in his life who made a difference.
He was an engaging, interesting and entertaining storyteller. He had us laughing one minute and out of breath the next. I can’t believe there was a single person in the room who didn’t walk away deeply affected and completely inspired.
Here was a man who, despite incredible odds, had found a niche. The gifts from him were far more powerful than anything that might have held him back academically. For me, whose job it is to help students find their own niche, his was a great success story.
By overcoming fear and taking a leap of faith, he allowed himself to be himself. He is a great example of the blessings we can give if we find within 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 I had never heard anyone give voice to his personal struggle like Ben did. Ben’s letters ADD, ADHD, LD (and so on!) were like a badge that automatically put him in the same club as my son.
I don’t think anyone has made ADHD or a learning disability sound this cool before!
Afterwards, we were able to have a long conversation about how her learning disability wouldn’t stop her from finding her own niche and taking her 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 get a chance to see it in person, I highly recommend it. If you are the parent of a child who is struggling in school or has been diagnosed with a learning disability or other unfortunate label, I recommend you bring those as well.
I love to see the sun shine.
It was shockingly awesome to see it happen in chalk.