Category Archives: details
It’s in the little things.
Isabel has been struggling with her prepositions lately. In her language ‘to’, ‘for’, ‘from’, ‘at’, ‘in’ … they’re all interchangeable. She grabs onto the big words, the ones she deems most important, then kind of stammers through everything in between. Lately, her loudest and most clearly pronounced mistake is in song: “Stand up! Stand up to Jesus!”
I can’t tell you how many times we’ve tried to correct her. “No, honey, it’s stand up FOR Jesus -not TO Jesus.”
“I know, I know, Mama.” She then starts another verse, rallying troops against Christ. She doesn’t care much for those little words, but they hold a bucket of meaning.
Sometimes little things mean a lot. Sometimes we are so busy focusing on what we deem important we forget the meaning behind those little things.
Today my big struggle has been boredom. Both Ellie and Zach want my attention all the time. I’m not allowed to be a spectator or innocent bystander. No, I must get down and dirty with every game they imagine. Sometimes I love it. Today … well, I haven’t been lovin’ it. We played for half an hour with a piece of ribbon. Then we ran back and forth from the couch to the stairs pretending one was a bus and another was a train. At each stop we had to be sure our seatbelts were fastened just long enough to unfasten them and start over. This went on for about an hour. The whole time my mind was filled with the thousands of other things I could be doing. I thought about the piles of laundry in the basement and the dishes in the sink. I thought about that bill I needed to pay and some notes to remember for a writing project. I remembered a deadline quickly approaching and a friend I promised to call. I was bored out of my mind playing with ribbon and invisible transportation. But you know what? Isabel and Zach had a ball! They guffawed big belly laughs and sang happy little songs. Their eyes sparkled in a way I haven’t noticed in a while. These little ones are so important! Yes, that eye twinkle is a lot smaller than the pile of laundry calling my name. The giggles and tumbles and sweet imagination stories sometimes get lost in the big stuff, what I deem more important at the moment. But when I miss those little things … well, I’ve missed all the meaning – haven’t I?
My challenge to you: savor the little things. In giving little words of encouragement or a little smile; in those little, sometimes hidden moments of life we can find all the meaning.
Burnt Ribs
Last night I had an undeniable craving for barbeque ribs. Normally, such gastrointestinal whims are ignored in favor of pleasing my husband. He’s not a huge fan of ribs, so typically I save them for meals he misses. Last night was one such meal. Rick had to work late, and I pulled out the ribs.
Do you make ribs often? If you do, you know aluminum foil is necessary to really do it right. We had none, but I was not giving up. “What can I substitute for aluminum foil? I need something to lock in the steam and create a nonstick surface …” Perhaps my hunger and craving combined to block logical thought processes. I’m not sure what happened, but for some reason, I decided wax paper would work, forgetting it was highly flammable. Within moments of putting it all in the oven, the smell of snuffed candles filled the house setting off the smoke alarm.
Details are important. Following instructions is important. If we miss one thing, no matter how small it seems at the time, the results could be disastrous. This was just food – far from a life or death situation. God’s Word, on the other hand, is the instruction manual that spells life or death. Every detail of it is important.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. “ – 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)
Just like in cooking, we cannot choose which of God’s instructions we like and which we don’t. We cannot choose which sections to obey and which we will ignore. “ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful …” Not just some of it. Not just the sections that make us feel good. ALL of it. When we follow the instructions completely, everything works great. When we don’t, we set off smoke alarms and get burnt ribs.
After a very trying morning, Isabel looked at me today and said: “Mommy, I don’t want to listen to you.”
I immediately got down to her eye level. “You don’t have a choice.”
There are certainly times I don’t want to listen to God. I want to choose which parts of His Scripture I will obey today. I want to decide for myself what passages apply to me and which ones are intended for others.
This, however, is not a choice for me or you to make. If we place our faith and trust in God, we must believe Him in everything; in every part of what He says. We don’t have a choice. It’s all or nothing. When it comes to salvation, all is definitely better than nothing.
Nativity Mix-ups
Certain stories are always repeated at Christmas: “The Sound of Music”, “Charlie Brown” and the time Uncle So-and-so set the tree on fire. Every family has their stories. Mine laughs about my brother getting stuck in the sofa bed. We folded him up in there as a joke, but then couldn’t get him out. My sister and I cried hysterically at the time, thinking we had just killed our mother’s firstborn. Now it’s just a fun part of Christmas conversation – as are our many misrepresentations of the Nativity. My mother loves to tell how I tried so hard (being the drama queen that I am) to provide an accurate portrayal of Luke 2. As my brother read, “Mary pondered all these things in her heart,” I fiercely beat my chest, pounding all that I could into my heart. As the next generation grows, so does our collection of stories.
We recently purchased a ‘Little People’ nativity set for the kids. I was so excited to give it to them and share the story of Christmas once again. Isabel loved it and listened intently. She especially liked pushing the angel to hear ‘Away in a Manger.’ My girl immediately started learning the song. When I re-entered the room a few minutes later, I heard her sing: “… the little bird Jesus go sleep in the hay!”
“Honey, it’s not ‘little BIRD’. It’s ‘little LORD Jesus.’”
“No, Mama. Little BIRD. See?” With a ballet-like flourish, she gestured toward the little plastic palm tree, now holding a colorful toucan borrowed from Noah’s ark.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, you’ve got a bird in the tree, huh?”
“A PEAR tree!”
Yes, we’ve got a new story: the little bird Jesus in a pear tree.
So Literal
My mother always taught us to “say what you mean, and mean what you say.” It was a family mantra. One I have repeated many times over throughout my life. Apparently, though, I’ve not been living up to this standard well.
Isabel was being pokey, as most two-year-olds are. Getting impatient, I told her to “hop to it!” She immediately started jumping around the room singing “Hop! Hop! Hop!” After rolling my eyes, I said, “Knock it off. We need to go!” She obeyed by hopping over to the TV and knocking on the screen.
A little later, she and I were cooking: Chicken Curry Salad — one of Isabel’s favorites. While I chopped the celery and onions, her job was to tear the cooked chicken into small pieces. She was doing great, but more went into her mouth than into the bowl. I laughed and told her, “Ellie, you gotta stop eating all the chicken!” Before I could catch her, she spit all of her half-chewed food into the bowl. Hooray for first-time obedience! Anyone want pasta for dinner?
So now I am very cautious of what and how I say things. Sometimes what should be clear is not quite so. My mother was right: we need to say what we mean and mean what we say. Otherwise confusion abounds and frustration grows. Yet another stimulus to give thanks God is so literal with us.
Someone recently told me that he doesn’t “hold God to literalism often.” How sad! Of all the books ever written, of all the words ever spoken, the Bible is undeniably the most important. To believe that we cannot accurately depict the truths written there is a tragedy!
God is a literal god. He is true to His word. Yes, Scripture contains parables and poetry. In those cases, we must interpret passages as poetry and parables. (Solomon’s lover did not really have a goblet for a navel.) But there is no reason to over-think things. If God says He created the world in six days, He created the world in six days. If He says Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, you better believe He rose on the third day. If God tells us through His holy Word that Jesus death covered the price for all our sins and we can be adopted into God’s family by grace through faith, it is true! Every word He speaks is true. He says what He means and means what He says. How wonderful! No guessing required. We don’t need a special degree to understand His love. We just need to read, listen and obey. So, hop to it! 
