Say What?!

The nine year old is cracking me up. It's often intentional, he has a great sense of humor. At times though it isn't what he says that is so funny, it's that he is the one saying it.

This morning is a prime example. He was off to spend the day with his big brother. He came into my office, bright eyed and bushy tailed, dressed to go in a tee shirt and shorts. I asked him to go check the weather channel, since I thought the temperature might have dropped after the storm moved through yesterday. He came back, stood at my elbow and said, "Mom, it went from hot to not". Now I know this is exactly what the weather channel must have said but from my nine year old it was hysterical. Perhaps it's that face which is gently sprinkled with freckles and a darling grin, but somehow the words do not fit the face. And the context is absurd.

He certainly says nine year old things, like "You're not the boss of me" and "I'm too tired". He also says things like "I cannot wear that shirt to school, it is inappropriate." and, "I can't believe how slow these people are. I would never refer them to my friends."

He is a strange mix of nine year old boy and 40 year old man. His vocabulary peppered with words he has picked up from books, television, conversations he has heard and he uses them correctly. It's just so funny to hear them coming out of that little boy mouth.

Jesus invites us to this kind of absurdity when he tells us we need to have the faith of a child. The invitation seems to me to be the reverse of Sam. Instead of grown up things coming out of a child's mouth, it may be time for us grown ups to talk more like children. Instead of talking so much about how much we know and how much control we have of our lives, maybe we ought to be talking more about how dependent we are on grace and God's guidance. It could be time to find joy in the simple things around us like the laughter of a nine year old, or a star lit night or maybe the brilliant colors the setting sun spread across the sky instead of the things we accumulate, the exotic destinations we can vacation, the power and prestige we value.

Sam responded to the question, "do you want your glasses" by saying,"Mom, you know I function better with my glasses." Sam is right, he certainly sees better. I wonder if we wouldn't function better with our vision corrected. Just a thought.