I grew up with the story of the Little Red Hen. Spoiler alert if you haven’t read it, it’s about a chicken who is making bread - which is weird, because chickens have no hands. But it’s a children’s story, so anything is possible.
The Little Red Hen asks for help at every step of the breadmaking process, but all the other farm animals are too busy. Throughout the story, she develops the catchphrase, "Then I will do it myself". When the bread is finally made, she asks if anyone will help her eat it, and all her friends are suddenly available. To teach them a lesson, she announces that since they didn’t help plant the wheat, harvest the grain, grind the flour, or bake the bread, she will eat it all by herself.
Working with young people sometimes reminds me of the Little Red Hen story. They are often only interested in the good parts, the fun, or the outcomes, rather than the process. Running the STORMCo trip each year is a highlight of my school year. We take a group of uncertain and inexperienced students, and we get to see their transformation and growth happen in real time. That process is HARD. It takes months of planning, lots of packing, and plenty of training to make the trip happen. I could be like the Little Red Hen and do everything myself, but there is so much value and beauty in sharing the load and watching others grow in confidence and skill.
There are many times when students drop the ball, ghost my emails, or do a poor job. If I don’t keep believing in them, giving them responsibility, and creating opportunities for them to grow, that growth will never take place. I can do all of these things myself, but then I miss the messy process of training, empowering, and supporting others. I would be confident that the work was done well and completed, but I would be standing on my own at the end of the trip. Instead, in Chapel this week when we shared about our STORMCo experience, I stood alongside an incredible team of staff and students we can all be proud of.
Our students come back from STORMCo changed! They have tried new things, pushed themselves to keep going, and solved problems when faced with adversity. That is the highlight of the work I do here at Avondale School, as I work with the other amazing staff to empower students and develop their skills and leadership.
Helping young people grow involves repetition, mistakes, and frustration. All of this is hard to tolerate when you're already a competent adult, but if we miss the process - if we skip it and simply do everything ourselves - we miss out on seeing the next generation become who God has called them to be. We also miss the privilege of helping them discover the gifts and passions God has placed within them. Thank you to the parents, teachers, and school staff who patiently support our young people as they grow into who they are becoming and who God is calling them to be.
Sometimes I still want to be the Little Red Hen and do it all myself. It would be quicker, and it would probably be neater. But if I do, I might end up with a perfectly baked loaf and no one else who has learned how to make bread. The joy of the bread isn’t just in eating it alone, it is in a shared table, community stories, and recipes that are passed down through generations.
Let’s continue to pursue patience, kindness, and tenacity as we support our kids to be welcome, to learn, to grow, and become experts at the table alongside us.
Pr Bethany Chapman
Campus Ministries - Chaplain
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