The simple joy of kindred spirits

Today, I went to an event designed to help young people understand and grow in their faith. It was a really cool experience, but there was one particular part of it that really struck me - not on a spiritual level, or anything like that - but something that just made me... happy.

During the lunch break, we were all given pipe cleaners and told that the person or group who made the best and most creative thing out of the pipe cleaners would receive a prize. My friend and I got creating and made a rather dodgy carrot, and got ready for when the competition would be judged.

When the time came to judge the competition, the organiser told everyone who had made something to hold up their creations and they would come round and give the creators a microphone, so they could share with the group what they had made. There were many different creations around the room, from our dodgy carrot to a desert island to a pair of glasses. Incidentally, the winning entry was one that I couldn't see from where I was sitting: one group had somehow made Noah's Ark out of pipe cleaners. But that isn't what I wanted to share with you.

Before I tell you what it was that made me so happy, I think I need to explain something first - I went to a multi-faith secondary school, which was 90% Muslim. I haven't been in a room of people who are all my own age and are all Christians since before I even embraced my faith. While I get along with people of other faiths and are good friends with many people of other religions, I never realised just how joyful it can be to be around people who all believe the same thing that you do, and are all the same age as you.

The man with the microphone went over to one boy who was holding up a creation that - from where I was sitting - simply looked like a brown pipe cleaner with a green pipe cleaner tied round the end of it. The man held out the microphone to the creator and asked him, "What have you made?" The creator replied, "The twig that the dove brought back." And everyone laughed.

It may seem rather simple to people who weren't there, but being in a room where everyone was my own age and everyone understood what the twig that the dove brought back even is, really made my day.