Toby Mac and God things…..

Took grandson number one to the Toby Mac concert last night. It is part of his Christmas gift this year. We were both excited as coud be, and doubly so because I had been able to get us seats on the floor.

On the way into the Coliseum, Nate scooped up a piece of paper lying on the ground. It turned out to be someone\’s ticket. We checked the name and planned to leave it at the ticket window on our way in. A few seconds later we saw this guy walking out the doors and down the sidewalk. \”Nate,\” I said, \”ask him if he\’s (whatever the name was).\” So Nate did, and lo, and behold, it was! He was so grateful! It had fallen out of the pocket of one of his teens. Can you imagine getting all the way to the show and then not being able to go in, or having to pay for the ticket all over? We took that as a sign that the evening was going to be a good one.

We got there with 20 minutes to spare and found our seats. Pretty cool. Not too far from stage and the last seats on the row. We thought we were in for a real treat. Unfortunately, when the opening act began the evening, we discovered a problem of major proportions. Everyone stood up. Nate is only ten; he couldn\’t see over any heads. We tried standing him in a chair, but the usherette told him he couldn\’t do that. So we moved into the aisle a little and a couple minutes later were told we couldn\’t stand there.

After about ten minutes, Nate very quietly said, \”Grandma, I don\’t want to seem ungrateful, but I sure wish we didn\’t have seats on the floor.\”

I wished we didn\’t either. His little face looked so disappointed that it was breaking my heart. Not being one to just decide nothing can be done, I decided to do something (does this surprise anyone?). I took Nate\’s hand and we went up the steps to the middle section. We walked until I found an usher and explained the situation.

She was very understanding. They had already had a couple other folks with the same problem, she told me. She also told me to never get a floor seat again. That won\’t ever need repeating, I promise you.

After some radio communications back and forth, we were escorted to a seat on the middle section directly facing the stage. We sat through Skillet, who did a great light and smoke show, but I\’m not particularly fond of the guttural scream, so I didn\’t really enjoy them.

At the intermission, we moved to the end of our row so Nate could see a little better. About 9pm, Toby Mac started, and my little guy was on his feet, singing every word to the songs, dancing as much as he can (he\’s sort of rhythmically challenged), and just enjoying himself to pieces. He stood a bit out in the aisle, because the guy in front of him was a big guy.

About ten minutes into the show, an usherette showed up and spoke directly to Nate. I thought she was telling him to step out of the aisle, but he looked at me and yelled, \”SHE TOLD US TO FOLLOW HER!\” I grabbed up our coats and followed her… six rows down to a really empty space in the seating, where she gave us permission to sit. Nate was ecstatic! About halfway through the show, he shouted, \”THIS IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!\” Made my heart feel good.

On the way home, we talked about the seating problem and how it had finally been solved. We thanked God for His blessing to us that evening. It was a great object lesson for him, and one I hope he remembers for a while.