Out of the Mouth of Babes
Pray for the extroverts. Pray for those of us who have been waiting not so patiently to get back out into the world. Pray that those of us who have a deep well of a need to interact with people will find a happy balance as we return to societal norms. We “golden retriever” types tend to over step the comfort zone boundaries during “normal” circumstances so when the gates reopen to the “new normal” we may be even more in your face.
This quirk was on full display last week as the Creasy’s went to the beach alongside my mom, two sets of my aunts/uncles and my brother and his lovely wife. My uncles seem to never meet a stranger which means they fit right in with my mom’s side of the family. If you’ve met me and been around me very long you now know where I get it. Whether it was on the beach or on the putt putt golf course my uncles were talking to the people around us. It comes as no shock that this same mentality has made its way down to my two young ones. Hailee is the more out going of my two as she can’t stand to be anywhere without making a friend. I had to tell several kiddos that had been drafted into Hailee’s circle that they would just have to tell her when they were tired of jumping off the side of the pool because she isn’t stopping anytime soon. Daniel on the other hand is typically focused on building the “Walls of Jericho” and did so multiple times throughout the days spent on the sandy ocean front. The biggest difference between the walls built out of legos in my living room and the walls at the beach is there was an audience.
During one of the breaks from the Hailee dominated pool times, I had convinced her to go to the beach. We made our way down to the crashing waves and I could hear my son talking as fast as his little mouth could go. There he was with my mom building up the walls and telling the entire Jericho story to this stranger who I’m sure was trying to enjoy their vacation. I looked back over the beach and he had “built the walls” from one end to the other. I guess my mom saw my puzzled face and informed me that he had told the story to anyone that was within hearing distance. As I contemplated what to do, I waded out as the crashing waves. My first inclination was to tell him to stop. Thankfully, I thought better of it.
What if there was one person on that beach that day that needed just a little boy nudge to give their life to Jesus? It’s tempting as a Christian to limit speaking of God’s awesome power for a specific time and place. I’m reminded of Jesus’ statement to the twelve in Matthew 10 verse 7 “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near’” (NIV). “As you go” and wherever you go not only tell people about the power of God but show them the power of God by how your life has been changed. Maybe there was a dad out there on that beach that needed to see God’s great commission lived out by his kids. Needless to say I preached with a little more gusto this past Sunday. Thanks for the lesson son.
Travis
“Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.” Psalm 8:2 ESV