In the Wake of Eleven Baby Strollers

Yesterday, I was part of an experience in which Eleven Baby Strollers created an eye-catching and positively destructive wake*. The men in my Adult Sunday School took their kids to the zoo. A lot of fathers, but also a lot of married men without kids and then me - the older single. We had kids all over the place, 23 of them I think. Mainly we were just trying to keep them from getting lost. One of the guys had triplets and a fourth kid in a quad-stroller. A woman later asked me if his stroller was custom-made. I don't know - but it was a butt load of kids.

One of the things about the zoo is that there's a lot of moms out there with their kids, but not a lot of dads or father figures. I mean, there's men and women partners/married couples, but there's not a lot of fathers or father figures out there with their kids. Needless to say, 20 men wondering around the zoo with 23 kids takes notice.

Two things happened that drew my attention. First, a zoo worker at the Wallaby Kangaroo station kept asking herself out loud if it was Father's Day. She was not kidding. She was seriously confused and thought she'd confused weekends**. Second, another woman came up to us and started asking us questions. "What are all of you men doing here?" This was the moment I realized that we really stuck out. We shared with her that we were from the same church and taking the kids out to the zoo. Then she commented about how we stuck out in a good way and she just had to know what was going on.

I wanna say two things here. First, I am struck by how men acting like men can create such a wake in such a place as the zoo. And, I will even say that there was something happening that was Biblical and that people were drawn to us in a similar way that they were drawn to Jesus back in the day. I mean, we weren't doing miracles and all that stuff, but people were drawn to us and they were drawn to the source of our strong, yet tender manhood. This is what people were drawn to in Jesus. Second, I'd like to say that I don't care if you believe in Jesus or not. Go out and get your friends. Get those who are fathers and your male friends who are married or single and without children. Take them out. Go to the zoo. Take Eleven Baby Stollers. It is a great thing to do for you, your friends, and your/their kids.***

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*A "wake" is the waves that are created when a speed boat or ship drive through the water. Everyone to either side of you gets hit by the waves and you take notice of the boat that has just driven by.

**Father's Day is June 19th, but this story occurred on June 11th.

***To Christians - please never use this as some sort of plot to evangelize those who ask you why you are there. This is using your friends and their kids. They will feel used and it would be a wound you gave them.