One of our kids favorite TV shows is Yo Gabba Gabba, and as parents we’re happy to admit we love it too. Its the kind of kids TV show you watched as a college student. Bright, wacky and somehow cool; attracting SNL comedians and actors . With bands like Roots and Weezer teaching kids life lessons, its got a pop, indie and hip hop soundtrack that pretty much sums up the cultural diversity within our family. So when Yo Gabba Gabba Live came to town, we had to be there. It was total fun, balloons, songs, dancing and DJ’s. The girls were almost as excited as we were.

At one point Biz (as the kids know him) came out to teach the kids some beat-boxing just like he did on TV. Saliva flew everywhere as a few thousand preschoolers demonstrated their skills.Then suddenly he changed direction, but somehow he sounded familiar. Not to the kids, but to me. And every other parent there. And he began:

You, you got what I need

Spontaneously a few thousand adults responded

But you say he’s just a friend, but you say he’s just a friend!

And for a minute or so we weren’t parents anymore: we were teenagers again, young adults again singing along to some old skool tune that was poppy hip hop and fun. So we sang and we danced and our kids saw a glimpse of something else about mommy and daddy. As I looked out at the crowd, I thought, There you are. Here we are. We’re still here. I smiled at my Generation. X.

The moment stayed with me and I wondered , So what did happen to Generation X? Years ago our churches lamented over us; a missing generation, broken by the broken homes and untrustworthy institutions and a world that had so forgotten our name, we were merely X. For the few of us that were Christians, there were prophecies of hope and redemption, a calling of a Generation who would be known for a different kind of Cross.

The prophecies and predictions were all so exciting, even glamorous at times…

So what did happen? Life. Some of us got jobs, got married, had kids. We bought, sold, even lost houses. We experienced joy; we faced tragedy. We grieved and mourned as life and death forced us to admit our mortality and our non invincibility. We became like our parents, our metabolism slowed down and we became ordinary.

Did we miss it - the call? The redemption? The impact that we could have?

In my opinion not necessarily. In fact I think the decisions we made each day, even this day will contribute to our legacy as a generation. We may not have realized this in our younger years, but this , life , mundane ordinary, jobs, family, highs and lows everyday life is where it all mattered . This is what the visions and dreams pointed to;this gift called Life. That God would infuse our every day ordinary journey, so that we might affect other peoples. We may not travel the world with a life changing message, but perhaps we could befriend a colleague and a neighbor and see their lives changed. We may not speak before the masses, but the kind of friend, spouse, employee, parent we become will speak volumes on how much Jesus shapes our lives. Our lives are probably quite ordinary, but by His grace and power we will see extraordinary things.

So to all you Gen Xer’s out there.. After the dreams and the visions…What happened next?

Because though like Biz we arrive up in unexpected places doing unexpected things, God hasn’t finished with us yet.