My Brownie Badge

Growing up, I participated in two weekly extracurricular activities. The first one was known as ‘C.C.D.’

C.C.D. was a complete mystery to me as kid. I had no clue what the initials “C.C.D.” stood for. Other children who attended obnoxiously referred to this activity as ‘Central City Dump.’  This set the tone accordingly. I knew I must be in for something awful.

 C.C.D. was like the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Catholicism.  Scriptures and prayers taught by well-meaning nuns with some games and snacks thrown in. The classes were supposed to get children ready to be a card-carrying member of the Catholic Church, where you could participate in the sacraments, like Holy Communion – more commonly known as the Lord’s Supper.  As an adult, I now know that C.C.D. was a series of classes designed to instruct children in the basics of Catholicism. C.C.D. stands for ‘Confraternity of Christian Doctrine,’ or just ‘Catechism.’ 

I’d be a complete liar if I said I enjoyed it.

What I really enjoyed as a child was my other extracurricular activity. Brownies. Can you blame me?  As a child, I knew Brownies (capital B) were a branch of the Girl Scouts, and that brownies (lowercase b) were a fudgy delicious dessert. Could there be anything better?  A club named after my favorite dessert.  I met weekly after school with other wiggly giggly seven-year-old girls, making crafts, singing songs, and playing games. The best part?  We could earn badges!

In a day and age when social media didn’t exist – badges were akin to a ‘selfie.’

These adorable little round patches were earned through the painstaking efforts of my mom. One of my badges that I “earned” at seven years old was a Ms. Fix -it badge, with a cutesy wrench, hammer, nail, and faucet embroidered on it. Reader, I could barely tie my own shoes at that time. I am now quite a few years older and I can tell you that if something is broken, I call for help.

As I progressed to the upper levels, I put in more of my own effort into earning these badges. I really coveted the Cookie Bee badge, so I sold enough Girl Scout cookies to give half my hometown diabetes twice over. You bet I got that badge!  Badges were sewn onto sashes that were worn proudly on Scout meeting days. Everyone at school would see how dedicated I was, and consequently, how important I was. Gosh darn it, I mattered!  I had badges to prove my *cough cough* mechanical ability, business acumen, athleticism, etc….

Dear reader, before you begin to think that I am trashing all Girl Scouts for being insecure, self-serving, competitive narcissists, I am not. Not at all. I am being transparent about myself and reflecting on how easily my pride grew.

A life spent loving Jesus is a life practicing humility and servitude. But the ego is a hard dragon to slay sometimes.  This world that we live in tells us to promote ourselves, ‘brand’ ourselves. Toot our own horn.  Follow ME on my Social MEdia.

Jesus tells us the complete opposite in the book of John 12:26 – “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

I choose to not have any social media, because I struggle to follow Jesus if I am spending time cultivating and courting my own followers.

You might be surprised to know that the Brownies of the Girl Scouts were not, as I once thought, named after my favorite fudgy dessert. The story behind the name is a blend of Scottish folklore and Christian servitude.

Juliana Horatia Ewing was a children’s book author, whose works were rooted in family life and folklore. Born Juliana Gatty in 1841, she was the daughter of a vicar. She grew up in a large family in Ecclesfield, Yorkshire, England. Her 1865 story “The Brownies and Other Tales” inspired the name for the Brownies of the Girl Scouts. 

In ‘The Brownies,’ a recent widower complains to his elderly mother that children are a burden, and she counters that “Bairns are a blessing.”   (‘Bairns’ being children.)

The wise but frail grandmother tells her two grandsons that in older times, houses came equipped with ‘brownies,’ a sort of helpful house spirit. This spirit would rise early and tidy up, light the fires, etc. They were to be placated by the homeowner by saucers of warm milk by the hearth. If displeased, the brownie could become its more malicious version, the dreaded idle boggart.

The grandmother observes that her two grandsons have been unhelpful to their grieving father, not caring for their baby sister or household chores. She instructs them that they might consult with a magical owl on how to find a Brownie of their own.

The oldest grandson, Tommy, sets out to find the Old Owl and when he does, he asks the Owl where to find a Brownie. The Old Owl informs Tommy that three Brownies already live in his house. Tommy is shocked! He questions why they don’t do any work. The Old Owl tells him one is too young, but the other two are simply idle. The Old Owl instructs Tommy on how to find the Brownie.

“”Oohoo! Well, I can tell you where to find one of the Brownies; and if you find him, he will tell you where his brother is. But all this depends upon whether you feel equal to undertaking it, and whether you will follow my directions.”

“I am quite ready to go,” said Tommy, “and I will do as you shall tell me. I feel sure I could persuade them. If they only knew how everyone would love them if they made themselves useful!”

“Oohoo! oohoo!” said the Owl. “Now pay attention. You must go to the north side of the mere when the moon is shining— (‘I know Brownies like water,’ muttered Tommy)—and turn yourself round three times, saying this charm:

‘Twist me, and turn me, and show me the Elf—
I looked in the water, and saw—’

When you have got so far, look into the water, and at the same moment you will see the Brownie, and think of a word that will fill up the couplet, and rhyme with the first line. If either you do not see the Brownie, or fail to think of the word, it will be of no use.”

….. “The moon shone very brightly on the centre of the mere. Tommy knew the place well, for there was a fine echo there. Round the edge grew rushes and water plants, which cast a border of shadow. Tommy went to the north side, and turning himself three times, as the Old Owl had told him, he repeated the charm—

“Twist me, and turn me, and show me the Elf—
I looked in the water, and saw—”

Now for it! He looked in and saw—the reflection of his own face.

“Why, there’s no one but myself!” said Tommy. “And what can the word be? I must have done it wrong.”

The Old Owl explains to Tommy that Brownies are helpful children and Boggarts are idle children.

The Old Owl shook out a tuft or two of fluff, and set her eyes a-going and began:

“The Brownies, or, as they are sometimes called, the Small Folk, the Little People, or the Good People, are a race of tiny beings who domesticate themselves in a house of which some grown-up human being pays the rent and taxes. They are like small editions of men and women; they are too small and fragile for heavy work; they have not the strength of a man but are a thousand times more fresh and nimble. They can run and jump, and roll and tumble, with marvelous agility and endurance, and of many of the aches and pains which men and women groan under, they do not even know the names. They have no trade or profession, and as they live entirely upon other people, they know nothing of domestic cares; in fact, they know very little upon any subject, though they are often intelligent and highly inquisitive. They love dainties, play, and mischief. They are apt to be greatly beloved and are themselves capriciously affectionate. They are little people and can only do little things. When they are idle and mischievous, they are called Boggarts, and are a curse to the house they live in. When they are useful and considerate, they are Brownies, and are a much-coveted blessing. Sometimes the Blessed Brownies will take up their abode with some worthy couple, cheer them with their romps and merry laughter, tidy the house, find things that have been lost, and take little troubles out of hands full of great anxieties. Then in time these Little People are Brownies no longer. They grow up into men and women. They do not care so much for dainties, play, or mischief. They cease to jump and tumble and roll about the house. They know more and laugh less. Then, when their heads begin to ache with anxiety, and they have to labour for their own living, and the great cares of life come on, other Brownies come and live with them, and take up their little cares, and supply their little comforts, and make the house merry once more.”

“How nice!” said Tommy.

“Very nice,” said the Old Owl. “But what”—and she shook herself more fiercely than ever and glared so that Tommy expected nothing less than that her eyes would set fire to her feathers and she would be burnt alive. “But what must I say of the Boggarts? Those idle urchins who eat the bread-and-milk, and don’t do the work, who lie in bed without an ache or pain to excuse them, who untidy instead of tidying, cause work instead of doing it, and leave little cares to heap on big cares, till the old people who support them are worn out altogether.”

“Don’t!” said Tommy. “I can’t bear it.”

“I hope when Boggarts grow into men,” said the Old Owl, “that their children will be Boggarts too, and then they’ll know what it is!”

“Don’t!” roared Tommy. “I won’t be a Boggart. I’ll be a Brownie.”

Tommy makes good on his promise and enlists his younger brother to be a ‘Brownie’ to their father. They take great pride in cleaning and cooking and doing lovely things, with the goal to keep their “Brownie’s” identity secret. This goes on for a very long time until the boys finally let their father in on the secret that they are the Brownies, and they go so far as to apologize for having been lazy Boggarts in the past. 

The grandmother has the final word of course – “Bairns are a blessing,” said the old lady tartly, “I told you so.“

C.C.D. taught me to serve Jesus at a time when I was more interested in serving myself. The Brownies (of the Girl Scouts) allowed me the vehicle to serve myself or others – and I chose myself more often. I outgrew the Girl Scouts and left the Catholic church behind many years ago. I have a very simplified relationship with Jesus.

I love Jesus and really want a different “Brownie” badge. The one that only He sees. If being a “Brownie” means serving unseen for the love of others, then like Tommy says, “I won’t be a Boggart. I’ll be a Brownie.”

“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

Lord, please make me a Brownie. Amen.

4 comments