Category Archives: Children

Bubble-ology

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Wow...Emerald continues to be fascinated with bubbles, her longest running passion by far. From the time she could follow an image with her baby-eyes, she’s loved bubbles. At her request we blow bubbles together every time she visits my house and haven’t missed a single day.

In little Emerald’s mind, bubbles are ever-captivating, always new. Today she was mesmerized by the barely audible “tih” they made when hitting the ground, bending low to listen.

Wanting to learn more, she stopped her normal never-ending chatter so she could hear the bubbles land, batch after batch. Then she tried to mimic that tiny sound with her lips. I don’t believe she’ll ever tire of bubble-ology.

Last week, though, I was as much in awe as she was over yet another discovery. We were blowing bubbles out on the deck when a gentle breeze ushered them toward a nearby evergreen. But instead of popping as they usually did when hitting the sharp branches, they actually landed, sitting on the needles indefinitely! It was remarkable.

Evergreen bubbles..

I studied Emerald as she studied the bubbles, having wonder written all over her face. Yet I couldn’t help but think of how many more astounding things there are in this world for her still to discover. Though she has absorbed a great deal in her two short years, there’s far more ahead.

And then I suddenly realized the same is true of me. As God was looking down at the two of us that day, ages 2 and 69, our level of knowledge was nearly identical by his standards. Actually, both of us are still like newborns in our learning, which isn’t a criticism of us as much as a compliment to him. Though I’ve learned more than Emerald so far, none of it amounts to more than the quiet “tih” of a popping bubble compared to what both of us are going to know in life after death.

Scripture gives us a word picture for all this. When we adults were Emerald’s age, we absorbed life differently than we do now in later years. (1 Corinthians 13:11) Paul says this vast difference between a child’s learning and a grownup’s is a good picture of the enormous difference between what we know in this world and what we’ll know in the next.

In our human existence we can’t possibly take in all God has for us to discover. But in our “glorified state” after death, we will immediately know completely. That’s Scripture’s promise, and it’s a marvel to eagerly anticipate.

AmazingAs for our pine tree bubble-phenom, I’m sure scientists could offer an explanation: barometric pressure, humidity, dew point, or something else. But Emerald and I don’t have to go after the “why,” because God will give it to us eventually. In the mean time, all we have to do is enjoy our amazing bubbles.

“Now I know in part, but then I shall know fully.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Four Disappointments

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Playland.On Wednesdays I get to play with Emerald until 8:30 pm while Birgitta attends classes, and though there’s lots to do at “MeeMee’s house,” sometimes it’s fun to go elsewhere. Last Wednesday we decided to head for a Michigan City McDonald’s where we’ve often enjoyed a kiddie playland. Emerald’s “Auntie Weezi,” who lives nearby, agreed to meet us there.

We arrived a few minutes early, so I decided to catch up on texting while Emerald played in the driver’s seat, her new fascination. It wasn’t 5 minutes before Louisa arrived, and we went in. But what a surprise to find the entire Playland had been torn down in preparation for remodeling. That was disappointment #1.

Heading back to the car to seek other entertainment, we discovered my battery was dead. Emerald had turned on the headlights during her playtime behind the wheel. Disappointment #2.

Jumper cablesBut Weezi saved the day! Unbelievably, she had jumper cables in her trunk, so all we needed was someone to hook them up. (We both knew approximately what to do, but a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.)

As we stood between the two cars eyeing people coming and going, a cable-angel appeared out of nowhere, a young man in a navy pea coat.

“Do you know anything about jumping cars?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said, taking the cables from Weezi.

But when he clicked them together, they didn’t spark. “I don’t think they’re any good,” he said. Disappointment #3.

“Could we try anyway?” I said, hoping God would somehow energize the cables just this once. But our cable-angel was right. They were, indeed, dead. Disappointment #4.

“I’ll find someone with good cables,” he said, heading toward McDonalds. “Really?” we said, but within two minutes, he and a uniformed McDonalds employee emerged waving car keys.

cables“In my trunk!” the employee said, retrieving his cables and bringing them over. When my car sprung to life, Louisa and I applauded, but the cable-angel brushed it off like it was nothing.

“Wait,” I said, reaching for my purse. “Let us give you something.”

“Absolutely not,” he said, walking back toward McDonalds.

“Can’t we at least buy you a burger?” I said, waving a bill at him.

“Nope. Glad to help!” he said, disappearing inside.

Standing between our purring cars, we realized that his one good deed had obliterated our four disappointments. And how good it felt to be on the receiving end of an unexpected blessing.

Of course the take-away is that we ought to be doing the same for others. Though playing the part of an angel is inconvenient, being a blessing to a needy person makes both parties feel pretty good. And surely it must bless God, too.

At the wheelEmerald never saw a playland, but she had some good fun in my driver’s seat. And the dead battery that resulted brought some good fun to Louisa and me, too.

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him.” (Matthew 12:35)

A-maze-ing

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When I was a kid, one of summertime’s greatest pleasures was visiting an amusement park. Although no one had yet heard of Six Flags, the Chicago area had Riverview, and southwest Michigan had Silver Beach. We took advantage of both places as often as our parents would let us. It helped that even the best rides cost only a quarter, and on five-cent day, they were all a nickel.

ParachutesThough we loved the roller coasters best, both parks offered all kinds of other excitement. One had a free-fall ride called the Parachutes with nothing more than a flat swing-seat and a limp chain to keep us from tumbling out. The other had a Fun House with a slide several stories high.

We also got a kick out of sitting on a flat disk the size of a living room that spun so fast not one rider could fight centrifugal force enough to stay on. Kids flew off at high speed onto carpet that gave them lots of pink rug burns — battle wounds, we’d say.

Something else both places offered was a Maze. Made with a dazzling array of sheeted glass and mirror, they fooled even the cautious. I learned by experience that over-confidence in a maze was a sure-fire way to go home with a goose-egg on your forehead.

Mirror MazeThese mazes were put together with their panels set at 45-degree angles, confusing us further by our own reflections, not just in front of us but in back, on the side, and “way over there.” It’s the perfect definition of “meeting yourself com- ing and going.” But we paid to get lost in them again and again.

Once in a while life itself seems like a maze, especially when it comes to making important decisions. The process can be much like finding our way through an amusement park maze: part frustration, part fascination. Just when we’re sure we see the way out, we slam into a dead-end…. sometimes with consequences far more damaging than goose-eggs.

So how are we to make wise choices?

By questioning God. But when we ask him, “Is it this or that?” we should be prepared to hear, “The other.”

Maze.God doesn’t do things conventionally, because he’s got ideas that would knock our socks off if he showed us all at once. So when we ask for decision-help, his guidance may not make immediate sense. That’s because he’s already way down the road in front of us, like a friend in a mirrored maze who we see but have no idea how to get to.

The important thing is that God isn’t out to deceive us the way maze designers are. His desire is just the opposite of theirs, not to trap us but to move us in an orderly way toward the good conclusion he has in mind. And as we trust his wisdom over our own, he’ll even get us there without any goose-eggs.

“Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.” (Psalm 143:8)