Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6

I learned a lot from Sesame Street! Many of us grew up watching Big Bird, Bert & Ernie, Oscar the Grouch and all the other beloved players from the Children’s Television Workshop…but we never learned how to GET there! (Go ahead…sing the song in your head right now…it never tells you!) But what we DID learn were life lessons that could help us for generations!

1. If you want to play with the rubber ducky, you have to put down the saxophone! I remember one episode when Ernie wanted his beloved Rubber Ducky for bath time…but he was playing with his toy saxophone! They were both fun toys, but he couldn’t have them BOTH at the same time. So he had to choose to set one down. I wonder if we’ve forgotten this lesson. We spend so much time WANTING everything…I wonder if we need to set some things down. Let go of some of the hatred we are holding on to…so we can experience grace. Release some of the bitterness…so we can revel in the freedom Jesus gives us! You can do it…let it go.

2. Families come in all shapes and colors. I grew up here in Portales and didn’t have many friends of color until maybe high school. And I had never been to a big city like where Sesame Street was…I assumed New York. But seeing Grover with other kids, and seeing Snuffleupagus (yes I could see him…could you??) as well as many of the human hosts was eye opening to this small-town boy. I didn’t know where Puerto Rico was…but I met Puerto Ricans on this show. Women, Men, Black, White, Hispanic…Yellow Big Bird, Blue Cookie Monster… they were trying to teach us exactly what Jesus was teaching the Rich Young Ruler: Love God (L1) and Love Others (L2)…those NEVER get old!

3. Sometimes…life is hard and you need a friend. Big Bird learned a hard lesson about being left out when he experienced bullying first hand. We always saw how Bert & Ernie were friends…but they got on each other’s nerves. Even in that…they still stayed friends! Many times, this show would tackle tough subjects like divorce or death…and they would always try to encourage the children to share their feelings with a friend! Proverbs 13:20 promises us, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” And Jesus consistently says, “I will never leave you!” Is there someone around you NOW that is hurting and needing a friend? Is God tapping YOU on the shoulder and saying, “Go check on them!”?

4. When in doubt, sing. Ahh the songs from this show! “Who are the people in your neighborhood?” (Ha…you just sang that last line, didn’t you!) “C is for Cookie…and that’s good enough for me!” (If you don’t sing that in his voice…there’s something wrong with you!) “Rubber Duckie you’re the one!” (I sing that EVERY time there’s a baby shower gift around!) The Psalmist told us this: “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.” (Ps. 104:33) While your neighbors may think you weird and the car next to you may be rolling their eyes at you…SING! Let the feelings you have INSIDE you, burst from your lips! Maybe that’s PRAISE! Maybe that is tears. Maybe it’s somewhere between those two…NEVER miss a chance to sing to God!

There’s tons of other lessons “in between the lines” of that show…and many other kids shows! Are you LOOKING for lessons? We need to be GROWING every day…even if those kids shows are playing in the background! What new lessons have YOU learned this week?? Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go eat some cookies…because they ARE good enough for me!

Shalom-Peace!
Don