My ready to turn three-year-old grandson and I played a special game the weeks leading up to his twin sisters’ arrival. While his mommy was in the hospital keeping the twins safe in her tummy, JB and I ventured, each day, on a trip to see them. Almost magically, every day as we headed out to the hospital, I’d open my purse and JB would find a hot wheels car in my handbag. All the way to the hospital, his tiny little hand clutched the small car. Once inside his mommy’s room, he’d run to his transport trailer, parked by her bed, and add his newest treasure to his collection of yesterdays’ cars.
Last week, two months after his mommy and sisters got home from the hospital, JB noticed my purse sitting high up on his kitchen counter. While climbing up an unsafe stool to fetch my handbag, his mommy pulled him back down to security and asked him, “just what do you think you are doing?”. JB pointed and answered, “Need GaGa’s bag”. Though his mommy was totally in the dark, the light bulb switched on for me. My little buddy hadn’t forgotten the magic of matchbox cars pouring out of my handbag. He was looking for it to continue!!
I felt horrible as I realized my purse was now void of even a single hot wheel. Feeling like a flop of a Grammy, I opened my bag, peered inside and explained to JB that it was empty of cars since he no longer needed to visit his mommy and sisters in the hospital. Honestly, I was expecting his non acceptance and, even, a few tears that the magic was gone; but surprise to his mommy and me, this was not JB’s reaction. Instead, he ran to his cubbies, pulled out the one garaging his cars, sorted through and picked out two from his collection, ran back to my purse and dropped them inside. He zipped my purse, hugged me, said “I share” and ran off to put the binky back into his squirming sister’s mouth.
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven’.” Matthew 18:1-4 (ESV)
Lately, too many times to count, God has awakened me to the richness and reality of this quoted Scripture. Look at our world. Adults are acting like spoiled rotten babies — in no resemblance at all to the Biblical referenced children. I truly believe, since so many grown-ups have grown out of living as a child of God, our Heavenly Father is having His littlest followers take the stage and actively personify the heart and soul God plants, waters and harvests in His greatest and tiniest Children.
JB put more than two matchbox cars into his grammy’s purse. He put renewed faith, hope and love into my heart and soul. Years will see JB grow up; but my deepest prayer is he never outgrows the giving and loving heart and soul of being a child — a, forever, child of God.
Uplifted in a Broken Down World 