A lesson in boys... and the Bible

The other day I had a lesson in all things... boy.

I was subbing for a Sunday School class, you see.  Since the focus this month is on honor, the co-leader (a male high-schooler) and I sat down to run through the lesson before class.  According to the lesson, we considered a question from the notes for ourselves.  "Who is someone you would consider to be your hero?  Or who is someone you want to be like when you grow up?"

It took me all of .3 seconds to think of several.  Depending on my various ages and stages throughout childhood, people I aspired to be like ranged from Kim Zmeskal and Bridgette Bartley to my coaches, mentors, and Godly women around me.  My models have changed to reflect maturity and understanding over time, it's true.  But it wasn't a difficult task.

Pretty sure I had this poster of Zmeskal hanging in my room for years...
how can you do something like this and NOT be a little girl's hero?

For my co-leader, it was a different story.  He couldn't think of one.

"Who is someone you respect?" I prompted as any true teacher is trained to do.  "Maybe someone who is really great at sports... or skilled at something..."

It took awhile, but... I finally got an answer.

"Yoda."

Really?  Yoda?

But of course, what was I thinking?  Despite the fact that this completely made-up character is from a different planet, has strange features, is green in color and speaks in a strangely mixed-up way... why wouldn't Yoda be the first choice for someone you want to be like when you grow up?

Then again, he's small... but mighty.  He gets to use a cool light saber and blow people up with his hand while flipping with ease 30 feet into the air.

Of course it would be Yoda.

My lesson in "all things boy" continued as a total of 8 boys meandered into the classroom.  No girls to be seen.  My conversation with my co-leader set the stage for all future discussions to be had.  We talked about the lesson, of course... just with a bit of a twist.  "We look on the inside and not on the outside because, well, it's the inside that really changes things."  "Yoda can do all this cool stuff not because he's just that awesome himself, but because he has the Force inside him.  And why is it that we can do great things?  What is our power source?  Why, the Holy Spirit, of course!"  "We can use this power to fight for what is good and in so doing, fight against the Dark side - the enemy."

I felt fortunate to have been inducted into all things Star Wars at an early age - compliments of having my dad and brother guide my formative years.  And don't get me wrong - I really do like a lot of the Star Wars (first) trilogy.  In Sunday School that week, we laughed a lot, learned a ton, had great discussions, and had lots of fun.  But at the same time, I had to sit back and laugh as I watched a room full of boys take on the topic of God with light sabers in hand.

Just one more reminder of how much I have yet to learn if I ever hope to understand the mind of boys!