By Maritza Brunt
Noah bounced the basketball on the pavement, careful not to let the ball escape his grip.
“Noah! Over here!” shouted his best friend, Shaun.
With a quick look over his shoulder, Noah threw the basketball to Shaun, who passed it straight away to Flynn. Flynn jumped as he shot the ball toward the hoop. SWISH went the basketball as it fell through the net.
“All right!” cheered Shaun. “That’s three out of three wins for us. Anybody want to play a fourth game?”
Some of the other neighbourhood kids groaned, while Flynn laughed.
“That’s enough for me for today,” he said. “Mum is making me do chores this afternoon, but if I get them done quickly, she says she’ll take me to get new basketball shoes before school starts again tomorrow!”
Noah and Shaun waved goodbye to Flynn and some of the other kids who had also decided to head home. They played for another few minutes before Shaun’s mother came out to the driveway.
“Shaun!” she called as she held up a bottle. “Sunscreen time!”
“Aw, man,” grumbled Shaun as he bounced the basketball extra hard. “She’s making me go and put sunscreen on AGAIN. Noah, you’re so lucky you don’t have to wear that stuff.”
Noah smiled at his friend, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He had heard that line many times before, but it never got easier to hear.
The truth was, Noah would LOVE to wear sunscreen. Every morning when he woke up, he would stand at the bathroom mirror searching for a freckle, any sized freckle, so he could look like Shaun. Noah hated his dark skin. He hated being the only kid on his street with dark skin. He just wanted to be like the other kids.
After he and Shaun had played some more, Noah slowly made his way back to his house. His mum looked up from the stove as he dragged himself inside.
“Are you excited for the first day of school tomorrow?” she asked him.
“No,” sighed Noah, dropping down onto a stool. “Mum, why doesn’t anybody else at school look like me?”
“There are lots of kids at school with your skin colour, Noah, and lots of other skin colours, too,” said Mum.
“None in my class,” said Noah, sadly. “I’m the only one with such dark skin. I don’t like it, Mum. I wish my skin was lighter. I wish I had skin like Shaun’s!”
Mum was quiet for a minute.
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”
Noah followed Mum into the living room and watched as she reached for a large photo album and carried it over to the couch. Patting the seat next to her so Noah would sit, Mum began to flip through the photos. Finally, she stopped at a page. Turning the book so Noah could see, Mum showed him a picture.
“Who do you see in this photo, Noah?” she asked.
Noah looked very closely at the picture.
“That’s Dad!” he exclaimed, pointing at a tall man. “And Uncle Jimmy, and Uncle Gavin, and Uncle Felix!”
“That’s right,” said Mum. “And now tell me, is there anything else you notice about the photo?”
Noah looked again, and did a double take.
“Mum,” he said. “I know that’s Dad, and I know those are his brothers, but who is that man with light skin standing with them?”
“That’s Mr Armstrong,” said Mum.
“Mr Armstrong!” said Noah. “You mean that’s Shaun’s dad?”
“It sure is,” Mum smiled. “This was taken about 20 years ago. Mr Armstrong went with Dad and his brothers back to the village where your Grandma used to live. They built a church and a school and helped with lots of other things.”
Noah listened intently as he studied the photo.
“But,” Mum continued, “Mr Armstrong didn’t have it easy at first! Lots of people who lived in the village were scared of him.”
“Scared?” Noah asked, confused. “But Mr Armstrong is the nicest person ever!”
“He is,” Mum agreed. “But he didn’t have the same skin colour as everyone else, and a lot of Grandma’s friends had never seen someone with skin as light as him. They wouldn’t go near him for a while. But Mr Armstrong was kind, and patient, and it wasn’t long before the villagers realised he was pretty handy with a hammer!”
Noah smiled. Mr Armstrong built some of the best houses in town, and Shaun was always saying he wanted to build them too, when he grew up.
Mum gently closed the photo album.
“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world,” she sang.
Noah joined her. “Every colour, shape, and size, they are precious in His eyes; Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
Mum held out her arms for a hug. “Just like the people in the village eventually knew Mr Armstrong for his songs and building skills, Jesus is also much more interested about what’s inside your heart, Noah. Not what’s on the outside.”
“Thanks, Mum,” mumbled Noah as he held her tightly.
The next morning, Dad dropped Noah off for his first day of school.
“I hope you have a great day, son!” he called from the car window. “Remember—it’s what’s on the inside that counts!”
Noah waved goodbye, and then ran to join Shaun and Flynn, who were on the basketball court staring toward the gym.
“Hey!” he shouted as he got near. “What’s up?”
“Look,” Shaun whispered with awe. “That’s our new P.E. teacher! Lots of the other kids have been saying he was once a famous basketball player!”
Noah looked in the direction his friend was pointing. Lots of excited kids circled the new teacher, cheering excitedly when he dribbled the ball and shot it backwards at the basketball hoop without looking.
SWISH! went the basketball and Noah’s jaw dropped open. The new teacher laughed and joked with the kids.
“He has kind eyes. I can’t wait for his class!” said Flynn.
“He sounds like a lot of fun!” added Shaun. “Let’s go meet him before the bell rings!”
The boys took off toward the gym, leaving Noah stuck on the court.
“He looks just like me,” Noah said to himself quietly, and then repeated it loudly: “He looks just like me!”
Smiling, he whispered a quick thank you prayer to Jesus, and ran toward the gym.
PICTURE CREDIT – Pexel Free Images
