We Should All Strive To Be A Little Childish From Time To Time
“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:4
Sorry for the delay in postings since my last but we took a little family trip to visit Mickey Mouse. This has got to be the most exhausting trip that you can possibly take. I mean we are there for four days and we are trying to cram as much as possible in those four days without losing our religion from fatigue. It’s a true test of family love! However, we survived and the kids had a ball which made it fun for Marcia and I.
During this trip I had the privilege to witness something that caused me to swell with “daddy pride” but also called attention to my own shame. If you have been following this blog since the beginning you are familiar with our adoption story and Gehrig. If you have the privilege to know Gehrig, you know that he is a funny little man who never meets a stranger. Marcia and I have always said that we feel that he is going to one day be either a preacher or a politician. He will strike up a conversation with anyone and from that point on, that anyone is a friend for life.
One day on our trip we were at Magic Kingdom. Marcia had ordered these cool t-shirts for all of us to wear. (Guys evidently it is the fashionable thing to do at Disney to wear matching shirts.) These shirts had a picture on the front of the members of the Avengers (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Spiderman, etc.) all sitting around Jesus. Just like comic books there was a conversation bubble coming from Jesus that said, “And that’s how I saved the world.”. Marcia thought it was an easy neat way to evangelize and get people to think. We had several comments from a lot of nice people about how they liked our shirts. I was a little surprised how much attention they got because the writing was a little small and it was very crowded so I wasn’t sure how much people would be able to read it.
So we were sitting in line at a little kids ride, and a young man that I would guess was in his mid 20’s noticed Gehrig’s shirt. He looked at G and said, “I like your shirt.” G said thank you but I don’t think the young man realized who he was talking to or that he had just cracked open a door that G was going to blow right through. Gehrig does not have one sentence conversations. It’s just not in him. If you speak to him you better be in the mood to talk because he is going to keep going. Gehrig proceeded to ask the young man where he was from, who he was, does he like Avengers, etc. Normal questions from a kid. But Gehrig then took it a step further than a lot of us adults would. He asked the young man, “So, do you go to church?”. I could tell the young man was a little surprised at the question and how matter of fact Gehrig was in asking it. The young man smiled and said, “Well I sure do.” The answer satisfied my son and he continued the conversation as most 8 year olds would.
I have to say that the moment struck me in two different ways. First, I was extremely proud of my son taking the opportunity that God presented him in reaching out to someone and trying to witness to them. Second, it made me wonder would I have done the same thing? It was an innocent moment. I know G was making conversation. But, you could see that even as a child, he recognizes what is important. Now, he didn’t really carry the conversation any deeper. But he was willing to ask an important question. He didn’t allow fear to get in his way. He wasn’t worried about what the man would think of him. He didn’t care that there was almost 20 years difference in their ages. Gehrig displayed a simple humbleness and concern for another human being and their eternal future.
How many times do I allow an opportunity pass by? How often do I let Satan steal a blessing from me because of fear? How many times do I allow my pride get in the way of doing what God has called all of us to do? I have to admit, it was an awesome feeling to see and hear my son reach out to that young man. It was also a moment that hit me between the eyes showing me how often I fail God.