Category Archives: Children

Good job!

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Emerald spends time with me whenever her mommy is attending university classes. And while Birgitta is learning, I am too.

Pop popA week ago Emerald and I opened a package together that came in the mail. Inside was a generous supply of bubble wrap protecting the contents, and I wondered if she might be ready to pop the bubbles.

As I squeezed a few for her, her eyebrows went up with surprise, and I could see this was a match made in heaven. Because of her love of bubble-blowing, bubble wrap was sure to become a close second.

Pressing my big finger atop her tiny one, I showed her how hard she’d have to press to get a pop, and doubted she had the strength. But in tandem we popped one after another, and she was hooked. When she tried it by herself, at first her finger wiggled and wobbled as she pressed, but eventually one bubble did pop. She threw her hands in the air and shouted, “Good job, bubble!”

And there was my lesson for the day.

PopAs self-centered as most toddlers naturally are, this time Emerald focused on the performance of someone (something) other than herself. I was about to say, “Good job, Emerald!” but she beat me to it with her good-job-bubble, as if she was proud of the bubble and its pop.

Of course there’s nothing wrong with congratulating a toddler on learning something new. But there’s something unusual about a toddler (who is normally quite self-focused) seeing anything at all from a viewpoint other than her own.

God had me in class on bubble-wrap-day and was reminding me that thinking self-first is something I do too much of. And when I think like that, I might as well be a toddler acting in character (rather than a toddler acting out of character as Emerald did that day). I’ve lived too long not to know better.

A few days later, I got the same lesson again.

Living and learningThe two of us were out on the deck blowing soap bubbles when it began to rain. Emerald asked for her mini-umbrella (which sounded much like asking for her “ebola”), and I wondered if she might be able to open and close it herself. She badly wanted to do it.

When we came in the house, we tried it a few times with my hand over hers, showing her how. And sure enough, she finally got it. When she did, her response was, “Good job, ‘ebola’!” And I got the lesson again.

Now my homework is to learn how to think of others not just intentionally but automatically. It’s hard to establish a new habit, but at least God taught the lesson in a truly charming way. And if I need a reminder, I can pull out the bubble wrap.

“We must not just please ourselves…  For even Christ didn’t live to please himself.” (Romans 15:1,3)

Praising and Praying with Mary

You’ll hear from me on Sunday night’s blog, bringing you up to date.

Unexpected

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Last week I blogged about Emerald’s little lost boot (Booted). She loved those boots in particular because they were just like her mama’s, but she hadn’t quite grown into them. The day the boots slipped off her feet it was snowing hard, and Emerald was being carried to the car. We didn’t notice they were gone till we were 20 miles away.

Snowy bootAt the end of that day, we’d found one of the boots buried in snow, but I was sure we wouldn’t find the other till the spring thaw.

Nelson, Birgitta, and I all searched diligently, but finally gave up, letting the little black boot go. I even stopped asking God to show us where it was, although I knew he could see it.

We kept the found boot “just in case,” but it only served to remind us of the one we’d lost. Then, lo and behold, today we found the second boot! Though I’d been in and out of my car a dozen times since it had disappeared, today for some reason I saw it. It had been in plain view all along, lying at the edge of Emerald’s car seat.

IMG_5162On one of those days I had set groceries in that car seat, and on another I’d used it to hold a stack of mail. We’d also buckled Emerald in and out of it twice. But more than that, we’d all inspected the car and especially the area around the car seat multiple times, but none of us had seen the boot.

Isn’t that sometimes the way we “find” new things in relation to our spiritual lives? We read books, listen to sermons, and attend Bible studies asking God, “Where is the answer to my question?”

But he seems silent, unwilling to reveal what we need to see. Until one day, when we least expect it, he sends a clear, concise answer.

Why the delay?

Maybe it’s because much of the time we’re moving so fast we miss what God is trying to tell us. Maybe we just aren’t ready for what he has to say until he finally opens our eyes to it. It’s also possible we think we already know how he’s going to answer us, so we can’t see his ideas for seeing our own.

But then all of a sudden, it’s right in front of us… just like Emerald’s boot.

IMG_5163Those boots are now ready for immediate use, since both have been safe and dry the entire time. The same goes for when God reveals what’s been hidden. Once he decides we’re ready, he lets us see it… and right after that we can put it to immediate use.

“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord.” (Isaiah 45:3)

Good Ideas

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Skylar with pencilAll of my school-age grandchildren are being home schooled by their competent mothers. And as their grandma, I’m nervous about keeping up with them! These children are learning literature, history, and math at an astounding rate that will leave me behind in the not-too-distant future.

Take Skylar for example. At the age of 6 she can hold her own in a discussion of everything from past-participles to the Reformation. She’s studying Latin and can also recite which president did what. She’s learning about maps and can properly arrange the States of our country without any trouble.

IMG_2517But the other day she brought her magnet puzzle to her teacher/mommy with the USA assembled in a new way. Pointing to Florida (where she lives) she explained how she had intentionally placed it close to Michigan (where I live). “This is how I want our country to be,” she said, “so we can go right to Midgee’s house.”

That impressed me, since it means she has accurately understood that the distance in miles between us now prohibits quick get-togethers. She’s aware that traveling to Midgee’s house takes lots of time and effort, and locating closer would remedy that problem.

I like the way she thinks!

I wonder if God, as our Teacher, ever says something like that about us.

So often I feel there’s more about the Christian life that I don’t know than that I do. God has given us the Bible, our “home school textbook,” which could carry the subtitle, “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about the Christian Life.” Jesus was our real-life example of how to live it out, but even so, I have more questions than answers.

But what if God is watching us as we try to put the pieces of scriptural wisdom together and is saying, “I like the way you think!” What an encouragement that would be!

Maybe we shouldn’t criticize ourselves too harshly for not always living up to Jesus’ example. It might be wiser to think about God’s encouragement for us to simply keep on learning and growing.

Skylar GraceThere may be only one correct way to arrange the States of our Union, but when Skylar moved them around a bit, she was learning other things, like the distance between two points. More importantly, she was learning that wishing for something doesn’t make it so.

As we continue studying the Bible and as we work to put it into practice, w­­e might discover all kinds of new things God wants us to know – expanded ways to think about him and our lives in relation to him. And as we move the pieces around, we might even get to hear him say, “I like the way you think!”

“The Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2 Timothy 2:7)