As a mom, I was always looking for new fun ways for us to connect as a family. So, I proposed a Mystery Dinner. Each family member was to invite a friend for dinner on Friday night at 6:30. The boys’ friends were coming to spend the night. Everyone was to keep their guest choice a secret. We played “Guess the Mystery Name” all week before the selected date. My husband and I chose people who were new to our church. This was an opportunity to make new friends. Our boys had no idea who we might invite, but we both thought that we had our sons pegged. We fully expected them to invite their best buddies. Eight-year-old Matt’s best friend, Chris, lived up the street. He had been in our home almost daily since we had moved to Knoxville. Robbie was Jonathan’s friend from church.
When Friday came, we were all excited. The dinner was
informal. We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs with all of the trimmings.
Everyone eagerly anticipated the arrival of our guests. When the doorbell rang,
all four of us raced to open the door. The adult guests arrived first. We
introduced them to our sons and again waited for the sound of the bell. We quickly
responded to the next ring of the doorbell. As expected, Chris stood at the
door with his things for the night, but we were a little confused that he had
brought his little brother, 5-year-old, David. I said, “David, did you decide
to join us for dinner tonight?” Twelve-year-old, Jonathan, said, “David is my
guest tonight. He’ll be staying.”
I hope the astonishment, on my face, wasn’t too evident, but
Jonathan truly provided the biggest surprise of the evening. Out of curiosity,
I later asked him about his guest choice. He touched my mom’s heart when he
said, “I knew Matt would invite Chris. I didn’t want David to feel left
out.”
It was a fun night with new friends and old. Laughter filled
the air as the children, five years to twelve, played together as if they were
peers. Jonathan understood when he invited David, he had to play like he
was one of the younger kids.
My goal was achieved with the Mystery Dinner, but real
success was realized in a way I had not considered. I know the pain of
exclusion. Haven't we all felt left out at some point in our lives? It hurts. But, on that evening, little David felt no heartache. He just had
fun, feeling like one of the big boys.
