The Sun Works
Faith is currently the hot topic of my life. We talked about it at MOPS this week; I reviewed a book about faith for CCBReview last week. It even came up during a recent trip to the grocery store.
My conversations with Isabel are always surprising and enlightening. She never ceases to show me new perspectives on life, God, my behavior or society. Her eyes are so fresh and her mind so perceptive. This week was no exception.
As we drove to the grocery store she looked out her window noticed all the snow still on the ground. This is a big deal because she is just beginning to understand seasons. If there is no snow on the ground, she insists winter is over. It could be five degrees outside, but if there's not snow, to her it is summer. Don't even try to argue with her -- she's convinced. Instead of saying "Let's go play in the snow", she says "Let's go play in the winter!" Well, seeing all the "winter" still on the ground, she asked me why some people had winter on their grass and others didn't. I explained the sun had melted some of the snow, but some was hidden in the shade of tall trees or houses and didn't see the sun as much. This intrigued her. "Mommy, the sun doesn't like winter?"
"Of course, the sun likes winter. But the sun really likes the summer. Before we can have summer, we need spring. Spring comes after the sun melts all the snow and the flowers start to grow."
She thought long and hard about this, then in a voice of near panic, she yelled from the back seat: "Mommy! The sun is not working!" Apparently, she had enough winter and wanted spring to arrive in less than five minutes. The concept of faith immediately entered stage left.
"Honey, it doesn't happen all at once, but it will happen. I promise. It happens every year and it will happen again this year ... when the time is right. You just have to trust and have faith."
Trying to explain faith to a not-yet three-year-old is difficult. There is the comparison to wind: you can't see it, but you know it's there; you see its effects. The problem is she can feel wind. She can't feel spring. She can't feel God. What is faith? How do I explain such a huge concept to my children?
"Daddy comes home every day, doesn't he?"
"Yes."
"Even if you can't see him leave work and you can't hear his train whistle, you know he's coming home. It's the same with spring. You may not see the sun working and you may not hear the flowers grow, but spring will come."
At this point she lost interest in faith preferring instead to discuss what kind of grocery cart we should use and whether or not she could get a special cookie. I assured myself the conversation would rise again and I would be more prepared when it did. We completed our shopping and drove home talking about all kinds of toddler topics, mostly her cookie which she now clutched tightly in her hands. Back home, after getting her out of the van, we walked gingerly across the ice and snow. She stopped short at the edge of the sidwalk in a small puddle of melted slush. "Mommy! It's working! The sun is working just like you said!"
Just a little bit of faith ... So often life stresses me. I want to know exactly what God's plan is for today and tomorrow and all the days to follow. I want to hear an audible voice assuring me that everything is going to fall perfectly into place. Faith is the evidence of things unseen. Just as Isabel is choosing to believe spring will come, I must choose to believe God is in control. That's faith. And I have plenty of reasons to believe; more than enough evidence to support my faith. Afterall, the sun works.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
My conversations with Isabel are always surprising and enlightening. She never ceases to show me new perspectives on life, God, my behavior or society. Her eyes are so fresh and her mind so perceptive. This week was no exception.
As we drove to the grocery store she looked out her window noticed all the snow still on the ground. This is a big deal because she is just beginning to understand seasons. If there is no snow on the ground, she insists winter is over. It could be five degrees outside, but if there's not snow, to her it is summer. Don't even try to argue with her -- she's convinced. Instead of saying "Let's go play in the snow", she says "Let's go play in the winter!" Well, seeing all the "winter" still on the ground, she asked me why some people had winter on their grass and others didn't. I explained the sun had melted some of the snow, but some was hidden in the shade of tall trees or houses and didn't see the sun as much. This intrigued her. "Mommy, the sun doesn't like winter?"
"Of course, the sun likes winter. But the sun really likes the summer. Before we can have summer, we need spring. Spring comes after the sun melts all the snow and the flowers start to grow."
She thought long and hard about this, then in a voice of near panic, she yelled from the back seat: "Mommy! The sun is not working!" Apparently, she had enough winter and wanted spring to arrive in less than five minutes. The concept of faith immediately entered stage left.
"Honey, it doesn't happen all at once, but it will happen. I promise. It happens every year and it will happen again this year ... when the time is right. You just have to trust and have faith."
Trying to explain faith to a not-yet three-year-old is difficult. There is the comparison to wind: you can't see it, but you know it's there; you see its effects. The problem is she can feel wind. She can't feel spring. She can't feel God. What is faith? How do I explain such a huge concept to my children?
"Daddy comes home every day, doesn't he?"
"Yes."
"Even if you can't see him leave work and you can't hear his train whistle, you know he's coming home. It's the same with spring. You may not see the sun working and you may not hear the flowers grow, but spring will come."
At this point she lost interest in faith preferring instead to discuss what kind of grocery cart we should use and whether or not she could get a special cookie. I assured myself the conversation would rise again and I would be more prepared when it did. We completed our shopping and drove home talking about all kinds of toddler topics, mostly her cookie which she now clutched tightly in her hands. Back home, after getting her out of the van, we walked gingerly across the ice and snow. She stopped short at the edge of the sidwalk in a small puddle of melted slush. "Mommy! It's working! The sun is working just like you said!"
Just a little bit of faith ... So often life stresses me. I want to know exactly what God's plan is for today and tomorrow and all the days to follow. I want to hear an audible voice assuring me that everything is going to fall perfectly into place. Faith is the evidence of things unseen. Just as Isabel is choosing to believe spring will come, I must choose to believe God is in control. That's faith. And I have plenty of reasons to believe; more than enough evidence to support my faith. Afterall, the sun works.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
Labels: child, encouragement, faithfulness, parenting
2 Comments:
I am enjoying learning about your family through your posts. It is a marvel to better understand God and his character through our journey of parenting.
Anna
www.wholeheartedlife.blogspot.com
So beautiful, so, so true. Faith has become more awesome to me as I've gotten older, but remembering my children's own pure observations actually strengthens and adds joy to what I possess now! And by the by, I got all mushy as you shared about Isabel's special cookie...I used to walk down the block with my three-year-old boy and buy him a smiley face cookie from the bakery...oh! such wonderful times!
Post a Comment
<< Home