(Editor’s note: Here at Clown-Ministry.com, we get e-mail from different people, asking different things. One of the more unusual was the following request from a Kindergarten teacher — I’ve included my reply at the bottom. Hopefully you find it edifying.)
I am a Kindergarten teacher in a Christian School from a small town in Louisiana. I have a student in my class that I think one day will follow in your ministry. Her name is Lynsey Witherill and she is just a clowning joy to be around. Lynsey has a giggle that will get the entire class following right along. She is a very bright student, completing material far above her grade level. Lynsey uses her academic skills to help the other students and sometimes entertain them as well. She is never disruptive as one would think of a class clown. She only uses her giggle to naturally express her joy or to cheer a sad classmate. One day I observed her cheering up a sad classmate with her best clowning face. I asked her if she was a clown. She quickly replied that she makes them laugh to forget their sadness. She has clowning in her heart. But what impresses my heart most about Lynsey is her love for the Lord. She is such a witness to the other children on a daily basis. She is blessed with a mom that teaches her scripture songs. Many times I hear her softly singing these songs around the other children. She loves the Lord with all her heart and wants to share her joy. She has a huge grin and sparkly eyes that are perfect for the face paint! She is a blessing to us as she will be to a ministry such as yours one day.
For our Kindergarten graduation, I am contacting the professional that one day will see my student in their profession. I am asking for a note of encouragement or wisdom to be read to Lynsey at her graduation this spring. Could you write Lynsey a brief note of encouragement? This note can be sent to me at the following address.
Thank you for your time!
Lisa Krumm
(address withheld)
Dear Ms. Krumm,
Thank you for your letter. I’m very pleased to hear about Lyndsey, and hope to see her using her talents for God in whatever field He calls her into — I’m sure that she’ll be a source of joy to others, whether as a clown or not.
I’m frankly hard put to write something that will equal your letter about Lydsey — I can truly say that I’m touched. However, in whatever feeble way that I can, I will try to write the letter of encouragement that you requested.
Lynsey,
Your teacher wrote me about you, and asked me to send you a short letter of encouragement. As your teacher may have told you, I am a clown. That means different things to different people. Yes, I make people smile and laugh — but that doesn’t make me a clown. Yes, I wear a silly costume and make up, and a big red nose — but that doesn’t make me a clown. I inflate and twist balloon animals, and do simple magic tricks, but that doesn’t make me a clown.A clown, when everything else is taken away, is someone who lifts other people up, most often bringing himself down. For example, if I am in a hospital, and there’s a little boy or girl who’s afraid of having a shot, I will act totally scared (in a silly way) of a shot — making an enormous scene, overreacting, until I get a shot, and then smile at the child and say, “Why, that hardly hurt at all!” The child has seen me exaggerate his own fears, and make them look small, which makes them feel braver — and now they can take their shot. I’ve lifted someone up, by bringing myself down — by humbling myself.
In a very real way, that’s what Jesus did for us. He lifted us up to be sons and daughters of God, by experiencing the humiliation of the cross at Calvary. That is the other thing about clowning, for me at least. It enables me to tell people about Jesus, who might not listen otherwise.
I have heard that you love to cheer your classmates up, and make them smile. That is a good thing — very good. But your teacher tells me that you love to share your love for the Lord Jesus even more, which is even better. A clown knows that a smile only lasts for a while, but that life with Jesus is forever.God bless you Lynsey, and I hope to hear more of you and your work for the Lord in the future.
Your friend,
Raynbow the Clown,
aka. Tom Raymond