Who Says Serving Doesn't Pay Off?

On Wednesday night, I got a text from one of my youth pastors asking me to volunteer at Show Hope's production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. I would be helping to run the merchandise booth, selling t-shirts and what not. I immediately responded with a 'yes' because I knew about Show Hope's mission, and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to serve them. And, let's face it - it's torture for me to have to say 'no' to people who need my help.

As I was preparing to leave the house on Friday night, I decided to look up the production on Show Hope's website, and see what it was going to be like. I was blown away. I was expecting a high school, maybe college-level, performance. Nope, not even close. This Cinderella had a star cast including, Jodi Benson (the voice of The Little Mermaid), Heather Headley (The Lion King on Broadway), Alli Mauzey (Wicked on Broadway), and Jake Speck (Jersey Boys from Broadway).

On our way to David Lipscomb, I enthusiastically asked my mom if we would get to see the show. She said probably not, maybe bits and pieces, but definitely not the whole thing. Though a little disappointed, my enthusiasm stayed intact.

We sold almost $3,000 worth of merchandise before the show had even started. I was prepared to stand alert and the merchandise booth when we heard the show start. However, I was shocked as my youth pastor led us away to a "secret room" where there were extra seats, telling us that he wanted us to be able to see as much of the show as possible.

As a person who loves music in general, especially soundtracks, this was a dream come true! I'd only seen one musical in my life (The Lion King when I was ten), so this was an awe-inspiring, new experience. The singing and acting was all fantastic, just like on Broadway (I imagine)!

In the end, we got to see all but maybe five minutes of the show. So, I got to see a Broadway-quality musical and serve Show Hope! And they say serving doesn't pay off...