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Ever since I was a little girl of 5, one of my favorite stories was the “rags to riches” fairytale of Cinderella. Following the death of her beloved father, this lovely, hard-working girl endured a hard life at the hands of her stepmother and two demanding stepsisters. Despite this harsh treatment, Cinderella always kept a loving and sweet disposition and brought joy to those around her.
As the story goes, the royal parents were eager to see the unmarried prince choose a bride, so they organized a ball, inviting all eligible maidens. Cinderella dreamed of going to the ball, but never really believed it to be possible. After her stepmother and stepsisters left in a flourish for the festivities, Cinderella had a visit from her fairy godmother, informing her that she would attend the ball. In the musical rendition of the story, this leads into the song, “Impossible for a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage. Impossible for a plain country bumpkin and a prince to join in marriage. Impossible things are happening every day.”
So why am I telling you about Cinderella? I was privileged to attend the opening night performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella performed by the Joan B. Kroc Theatre Company “Kroc Kids” in the beautiful Performing Arts Center in San Diego. There, to the accompaniment of a live orchestra, a cast of about 50 kids enrolled in the School of Arts at the Kroc Center performed under the direction of dedicated professionals who work sacrificially to bring the arts to the community.
The young man playing the part of Prince Charming was a student from New Orleans whose performing arts high school was closed due to damage by Hurricane Katrina. Searching the Internet to identify a place he could attend to further his study and fuel his dream to perform one day on Broadway, he applied, was accepted, and given a scholarship to the Coronado School of the Arts and got linked with the Kroc Center for this production. His story correlates with the purpose of the center: potential, given opportunity, allows for the discovering of a dream. The impossible becomes possible.
The children who enter this youth center have dreams that may have seemed impossible to achieve. But because there are people who are willing to help them, those dreams can become a reality. Impossible things are happening every day.
What seemed to be a monumentally impossible task has been made possible by the generous giving of Joan Kroc, and carried out by a dedicated staff, for the over 2,300 people who use the Kroc Center every day. Thirty percent of all participants receive scholarships to help fund their memberships.
Jesus never had any earthly wealth, but he had the heart of God, reaching out to people in impossible situations, giving them hope and health and life. He was able to lift them up, helping them to see beyond their circumstances, into an eternity prepared for them.
In answer to the disciples’ question, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27)
Everything is possible for him who believes. Impossible? It’s possible! After all, impossible things are happening every day!
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