Sometimes we called it “The Elephant Game,” (I have no idea why.) Most often it was called “Pass it On.” It was one of the games that my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Clancy, pulled from her bag-of-tricks to entertain us on days when rain cancelled outdoor recess.
Our desks were re-arranged into a circle. One lucky child was selected to tell a story or share a secret. He whispered it into the ear of the child next to him with the direction to “pass it on.” It was passed with excited lips, trying hard not to laugh, cupped into hands directed to the ear of the next child, then the next child, then the next child, until the story got all the way around the circle.

The last child to hear the message had to say it out loud. The end result, guaranteed to be almost unrecognizable from the original, was sure to evoke giggles from the girls and hysterical laughs from the boys that caused them to fall out of their desks.

It makes me think of the message that has been passed on for generations and generations. It has been passed on by magnificent artists, by inspired musicians, by award winning film makers, by countless pastors and reverends and priests, by prophets, by wise men, by teachers, by mothers and fathers.

And yet this message stays clear . . .
Christ was born to save us from our sins.
Christ promised us eternal life.

“Pass it on.”

Patti