The Circus

Caleb asked me about two months ago out of the blue if we could go to the circus one day. Since there wasn't one around at the time, I think I just told him we'd see and left it at that. When I saw a friend posting pictures on Facebook of a trip she and her son took to a traveling one that was passing through our area, I decided to check into knowing Caleb was wanting to go. After finding a location, date, and time that worked for us and a couple free kids' passes online, we made plans to try it.

While we hated to leave Reid behind, we didn't think he would be able to sit through the whole show, so we made arrangements for him to have a "special night" with NaNa - his first sleepover there without Mommy! The other two little ones made the 45-minute drive with us to catch a late performance that evening.

A little off the beaten path, we spotted the tents as we pulled up. Once on the grounds, we got to enjoy watching a few silly clowns before getting our seats and waiting for the show.

From the one circus I attended a child, in my memory was a picture of a much smaller arena with a few rows of wooden benches to sit on as we watched. One of the first things I noticed when we went inside the tent that night was that this troupe carried a much bigger setup. Despite having tons of chairs set up though, surprisingly a lot of them remained empty as we took our places towards the back in the middle section.

Soon the show began with their first act - the tigers. Perched on top small platforms, ten tigers awaited the commands of two trainers who proceeded to yell at them and crack whips around wildly. Not being sure how much of this was for show to make the trainers look "brave" in the midst of all these "wild" animals, it appeared to me to just be cruel as they harshly forced these beautiful caged creatures to do tricks. This was not the light-hearted performance I remembered from my childhood at all. I was sickened.

Grateful for the first act to end, we were much more impressed with the high wire stunts.

Afterwards came several acts by a variety of acrobats. For an event that's supposed to be family friendly, I was horrified by the costume choices and performances included. As the women paraded across in risque outfits, I felt like we'd entered a "gentlemen's" club versus the circus. At one point there was even this very young girl, looking to be about maybe ten, who came out dressed just as immodestly as the others and paraded around acting much more "mature" than her age. My heart felt so heavy that such a precious child was being exposed to so many and began praying right there for her protection from so many of those she might encounter with ill-intents. God made these women for so much more!

While my husband set there diverting his eyes from what was going on in the center rings, I cringed that my five-year-old was watching. Caleb and Hadley are too young at this point to notice, for which I was thankful, but I still kept feeling the urge to get up and leave immediately and might have if the kids wouldn't have been so upset and disappointed. (That said, I was able to take very few appropriate pictures to document our trip which is why you'll see so few in this post.)

My innocent sweethearts didn't notice how harsh the trainers were to the animals or how scantly clothed the performers were; they were just in awe of the amazing tricks they saw before them. I wonder if this was me as a kid and why I had a fond picture of the circus in my mind before attending this one, completely naive to what it really entailed. Nothing stifled their excitement though; they saw nothing but fun entertainment.

Before we arrived, Hadley said she was anticipating seeing the clowns. Thankfully, she wasn't disappointed. They used a pretty simplistic act with some silly antics and a few mishaps to get us smiling as we watched. We weren't busting at the sides from the hilarity or anything, but that was okay; it was good for what is was and at least it was appropriate for kids. 

One of the most amazing things we saw were three motorcyclists riding their bikes at zooming speeds around an enclosed cage. Up, down, around, and around they went. Definitely impressive in such a small space! It captured all of our attentions and was probably the best part of the entire show in Dave and my opinion.

At intermission, we got to watch the elephants parade around. We decided not to ride any for various reasons, first being the added expense, second that it didn't look very safe for little ones, and third I was feeling kind of sorry for the poor things having to tote everyone around that small space over and over. The kids seemed to enjoy just watching them though as we got a chance to stretch our legs.

The elephant finale at the end was pretty impressive too. Sadly though, it again brought questions to my mind about how these beautiful animals are treated and kept captive in small spaces, forced to perform.

The tickets being so inexpensive, I wondered where they made their money to support the huge number of folks involved in their performances, but over time it was obvious that food and souvenir sales were the major source of income. Thankfully, my kids did pretty good about not asking for extra things and not getting too worked up if they did and we said no. Hadley got a little attached to a blow up toy as we got ready to exit and Caleb wanted some type of sugary treat, but we just explained about the prices being too high and tried to model wise spending habits which they responded to well. Overall, they seemed just satisfied to have the experience, which makes me glad.

You can probably tell by now that this was my least favorite family outing by far. I felt so heavy hearted as I sat through the performance and even long after it ended. Everything seemed like such a waste. By the end, I was sure that this would be the last circus we'd ever attend.

As I pondered on why so many talented people - athletes, businessmen, etc. - who seem to have so much potential would seemingly settle on this career choice, I began to reflect on my own life and the gifts/talents God has endowed me with that I squander. As I thought about the way each performer posed waiting for the praise of the audience after each act, I considered how much I too am living in my own little circus, posting things on Facebook seeing how many "likes" and comments I can get. Wanting people to see my accomplishments and pat me on the back when really all the praise should be going to the One who gave me the talents in the first place. Life is so much more than being applauded, and as the Spirit began to work on my own heart about this, I also felt the urge to begin praying for those who worked the circus as well to truly come to know Him and realize that our purpose is to draw other's eyes to the Lord not ourselves. As I considered the cruelty of the ways the animals were treated and how frustrated I was that our money went toward supporting this group, I began to think about how many other times we financial contribute to things that go against our beliefs unknowingly. And, knowing about the mistreatment of those who can't help themselves, people or animals, what steps do I take personally to help them? On and on my mind went through the night and the days the followed....thinking in particular about what changes I needed to make personally as a result of those convictions.

There were so many object lessons I felt God showed me through this trip, and maybe that is why He let us experience the show. It definitely made me stop and think about my own life - making the most of what He's given me, giving Him the glory for the results, and taking more time to care about helping the oppressed. Even in a dark situation, He's always there teaching us, enlightening our hearts, and helping us to see Him better. Maybe the trip wasn't about a family outing at all...