There's a rock star inside all of us!

Happy Mother's Day!


It's a rare Sunday morning for me, plus, I have a houseful of family showing up in about an hour. But, I fell like I have to share some initial impressions of Friday night and Saturday with you because, well, I can.



It's no secret that I've always wanted to work closely with rock and roll. I used to dream of being a rock star, singing into my curling iron with all my bedroom lights turned off and about 2000 Christmas lights glowing all around. But, let's face it, outside my car or my bedroom, I'm really not that talented of a singer. So my next dream was to be a DJ. I even made tapes..."This is Sarah Schultz coming to you from the Lakeshore's ONLY hit radio station, WSJS, Manitowoc/Two Rivers."



My parents insisted I become a teacher, however. Don't get me wrong. I like teaching, and I'm good at it. Managing a classroom was a breeze for me, and I do like kids. So I used my love of pop music in my classroom when I taught. Life sent me down a lot of paths, though and I no longer teach every day.



It wasn't hard to see, then, that I would dream about the world of Rock and Roll. My biggest crushes are all in bands. Next to movies, music is my biggest passion and pastime. I look forward to Milwaukee's Summerfest as much as my kids do.



Of course, there's that book I wrote, a rock and roll fairy tale.



This past weekend was amazing for me on two levels. One, I got to shake hands with my biggest crush ever, Rick Springfield. (Oh, and he now owns an autographed copy of "Dream" tell me that's not huge, plus he autographed a copy of dream for me. LOL!)



I think we normal people all believe that rock stars only exist on the stage in the bright lights. I found out something this morning that made me rethink that idea. I believe now, that there's a little rock star in all of us, and all we need to bring it out the is starstruck eyes of a fan.



Let me explain. I teach Sunday School, and have done so for nearly 17 years. I love it, and I love teaching the older kids. This year I have the 7th and 8th graders and we study practical applications of the Bible to their lives. It's a blast, and I learn as much as they do.



I'm also the music director for the Sunday School. Twice a year we sing in church. And I try to make it a fun, current song that the kids can get into. This morning we sang Michael W. Smith's "You are Holy," with the adult contemporary choir and the church band. If you're not familiar, look it up. It's a glorious song and a ton of fun to sing, especially in my stodgy, old world Lutheran church. Wake those conservatives up, I always say.



In directing this huge choir of kids and adults, the little ones were in the front row. Now these are kids I won't see in my class for another 6 years or so, and I know their parents, but maybe not their names.



After we sang, we all joined our families in the pews. I wound up sitting next to a little boy who was one of these little singers. And through the entire service, that beautiful child smiled at me, and mimicked me. If I picked up a hymnal, he did too. He struggled to find the right page. He sat very nicely, smiling when I looked at him. He was adorable.



At one point, his mother said, "Aren't you happy? You get to sit next to Mrs. Bradley." And he smiled his six year old smile and kept staring at me.



And it suddenly hit me. I'm his rock star. In that moment, right after being the leader of a big loud group, I was the big star in his little world and I sat next to him.



Now, I'm not under the illusion that he'll even remember my name next week. But it doesn't matter. For one tiny little moment I knew what it felt like to be a rock star.



I believe we all have that rock star in us. We just don't realize it. Most of us go through our lives not understanding the impact we have on those around us. Rick Springfield has a song that comes to mind often. "Beautiful you, you don't have a clue, you star in the story of my life." (I love that song, big surprise, and it was part of my autograph to him.)



So, my friends, take a moment. Look around. Are you someone's rock star? I'll bet you are. Maybe it's your kid. Maybe it's your spouse. Maybe it's a small child in the pew next to you. But believe me, every single one of you out there is a rock star...maybe you just don't know it.



Have a great mother's Day to all you moms. We love ya!