Before we go any further, I feel compelled to say that this is the story of a young boy being completely outmatched.

Not by ideology. Not by doctrine. But by something of such disproportionate scale that, in my mind at least, it belongs somewhere in the general vicinity of David and Goliath.

On one side: an undersized youth with good intentions, limited strength, and absolutely no grasp of the rules of engagement.

On the other: a challenge of biblical proportions.

What followed was less a religious experience than a one-sided personal debacle—conducted in full view of a very attentive congregation.

In this tale from Clarence Mills, childhood earnestness meets public reality, where small miscalculations have a way of becoming… unexpectedly visible.

There is determination. There is effort. There is visible struggle.

And then—worst of all—there is the dawning awareness that people are enjoying it.

If you’ve ever been very small in a very large room…
If you’ve ever discovered, mid-effort, that things are not going according to plan…
If you’ve ever realized that dignity may not survive the morning…

You may feel very much at home here.

I’ll be right here Thursday morning with another Clarence Mills tale. And if you’d like the next one to arrive without any effort at all, you’re always welcome to follow along.