Bubble Gum

I had the privilege of speaking to the middle & high school students at our church. I had a great idea of using bubble gum for an illustration. I am a big fan of gum. As in it’s a bad day in my world if I have run out of gum & don’t have time to run out to buy more. I thought what better way to make a point than with something I love.

So, before the 1st service I stuck a piece of double bubble in my mouth & began chewing, because you have to chew gum for a while before it will make a decent bubble. By the time I got to my point, I had chewed the gum too long and it was stiff – making a pathetically small bubble. So, for the 2nd service I thought I would be smart, wait just until I got up to speak to put the gum in my mouth & I would change to Hubba Bubba to make a huge bubble. I felt like a 10 year old kid with a huge wad of gum in my mouth, trying to speak. I was spitting everywhere; thankfully no one was sitting close enough to get sprayed. I was convinced I was going to have slobber run down my face from this gum.

So, there I was spitting & slobbering as I’m trying to speak – wouldn’t my public speaking teacher be so proud. I was a mess.

What point was I trying to make? Well, I started with the rules of gum with some eager volunteers – don’t mix flavors (giving one of them 2 flavors that don’t go well together), don’t eat something with gum in your mouth (I gave another a piece of gum & a cookie), and you have to chew gum a while before blowing a bubble. I then gave each of my volunteers a fresh piece of gum & asked them to blow bubbles in the shape of a square or a triangle. The point was that bubble gum was designed to blow bubbles, nice big round bubble. Just as gum has its own design, each have a unique plan that God has for our lives.

Note to self: when preparing to speak, be sure to do a trial run of all illustrations & examples before-hand. Especially if it involves gum.