Category Archives: Children

Pen Time (By Jack)

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It’s been 4 months since Midge let me at her keyboard, but today I got my chance.

Although my summer went well (despite high heat on my heavy black fur), recent days have been more puzzling. It all began last week when I was forced to spend long hours in our new backyard pen. Until this summer I’d never been put behind a locked gate and wondered what I’d done to deserve such abandonment.

It occurred to me that Midge might have put me there by mistake. She can be ditzy, and it’s possible she just forgot where to look for me. But when I realized no one was coming on that first day, I became proactive. Since I’ve learned that repeated nudging sometimes opens closed doors, I tried it on the gate.

As I gently bumped my head against it again and again, suddenly it swung open, and I was free to go! Those days in the pen ended up being the best I’ve had in a long time! I don’t know where Midge or the rest of them were, but for unending hours I got to roam the streets, the neighborhood, and the beach as if leash laws didn’t exist. I began hoping Midge would put me in the pen every day.

But then something strange happened. Last Sunday everybody came home again and Birgitta walked in with a mysterious bundle that made strange sounds and had a bizarre smell. She unwrapped it, knelt down in front of me, and asked me to come and see it. She let me sniff it all over, but I really couldn’t categorize its smell.

Right then both Birgitta and Midge began talking to this new bundle in the lilting, high-toned voices usually directed at me. I leaned in close to receive their happy talk, but this time Midge pushed me gently and said, “No, Jack. That’s enough.” Since then I’ve heard lots of happy talk, but it’s all been a bust for me.

Finally today, Midge saw my sad tail and comforted me. “Jackie-Boy, don’t worry. We still love you, too.”

I hope so, because an old guy like me doesn’t make new adjustments easily. Actually, a week ago today was my 70th birthday. I spent it in the pen. But you know something? Despite most of the attention going toward Birgitta and the never-ending bellyache she was having on that day, Midge did give me a handful of birthday bones as she put me in the pen. Not 1, not 2, but 5! And when I finished eating them, I simply nudged open the gate and had an adventurous birthday celebration all my own.

I don’t understand much about the strange squawking bundle at our house these days, but I’m glad everybody is home now, and I’ve decided to rest in realizing they still do love me. I’m also going to be grateful for whatever pen-time comes my way.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Stressful Firsts?

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Emerald Louisa Nyman is only 4 days old, which means she’s had virtually no life experiences, and not much thought-life. Her miniature cerebral cortex is probably smooth, since rivulets and ridges come as a result of thinking hard and solving problems. (Pardon the over-simplification.)

As with all of us, the cerebral cortex plays an important role in remembering, paying attention, thinking, and language. Emerald has precious few reference points for any of that, which means her young life will be a succession of firsts for a long time to come. So, even though she’s only 4 days old, we decided to facilitate a few baby brain wrinkles today by taking her on her first shopping trip.

Because of that, it turned out to be a day of firsts for our little one: first journey away from home, first wind in her face, first rainstorm, first time in fleece outerwear, first trip to a store, first admiration from strangers, and on and on it went. Were we over-rivuleting her brain with too many firsts?

Probably not.

That’s because Emerald came equipped with God’s built-in defense system against brain overload. She ended up dozing through the entire excursion, oblivious to the long list of firsts unfolding all around her.

Something similar happens in our Christian lives, even those of us whose brains are well-wrinkled from years of problem solving. When we first come to know the Lord, our spiritual cerebral cortexes are smooth and inexperienced. We accept salvation much like a child, at face value and without question. As time passes, though, our understanding of God and his Word grows, generating questions that force us to use (and sometimes over-use) our spiritual gray matter.

When difficulties grow too big to manage, the word “why” comes up, and our brains go into spiritual overdrive. Circumstances often make no logical sense, so we over-think them and can’t understand why God won’t reveal the A -to-Z plans he has in mind, why he only gives the A and B.

We wear ourselves out holding onto the what-if scenarios that haven’t happened yet, when it might be wiser to follow Emerald’s example. If she’d been aware of the long list of firsts we had planned for her today, she would have stressed her new smooth cerebral cortex to the limit. As it was, she rested in the familiar security of her mommy’s arms and probably didn’t undergo any cerebral furrowing at all.

God must shake his head in amazement as he watches us waste time and brain power stressing over things that haven’t happened yet and probably never will. He’d rather see us relax and trust him to handle future details in the right way and time.

Meanwhile, just like Birgitta kept Emerald safe in her arms, God wants to carry us, too.

“I am he who will sustain you. I have made you, and I will carry you.” (Isaiah 46:4)

The Power of Love

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Those of us who are mothers know the sacrificial nature of mother-love. As I watch Birgitta relate to her 3-day-old infant Emerald, I’m reminded again of this potent emotion and what it looks like. For a 22 year old single mom, as for most new moms, it translates to a happy willingness to suffer for her child: inconvenience, sleeplessness, hunger, thirst, lack of a shower, and always putting self last. Birgitta’s love for her little girl is a 1 Corinthians 13 love for sure.

From J. B. Phillips New Testament translation, her love…

  • is slow to lose patience (i.e. never)
  • looks for a way to be constructive (and how to handle Emerald best)
  • is not possessive (willingly shares Emerald with the rest of us)
  • isn’t anxious to impress (by bragging)
  • doesn’t have an inflated idea of her own importance (never complaining about fatigue or lack of time for herself)
  • has good manners (treats her little one with respect and kindness)
  • does not pursue selfish advantage (feeds her first)
  • isn’t touchy (tries to understand the need behind baby’s fussing)
  • doesn’t keep account of evil (by dismissing the criticisms of others)
  • is glad when truth prevails (and thankful when others see her child as the blessing she is)
  • knows no limit to its endurance (smiles at Emerald, despite exhaustion)
  • knows no end to its trust (being sure God will help her to be a good mom)
  • knows no fading of its hope (expecting the best of her mother-daughter relationship)
  • can outlast anything! (and never fade)

Acting this way toward Emerald seems easy for Birgitta. It’s what she wants to do more than anything else. But 1 Corinthians 13 wasn’t meant just for new moms, and using it in other contexts isn’t always that easy. God’s intention is for us to act in the above ways in all circumstances and toward all people.

In other words, he wants us to sacrificially love everyone. That includes those who rub us the wrong way or bring us grief and even those we’d classify as our enemies, which is a great deal more difficult than loving a newborn. First Corinthians 13 also tells us that no matter what accomplishments we make in life, no matter how righteous our attitudes or deeds, if our M.O. isn’t love we’ve done nothing worthy of praise.

Those are strong words we’ll spend a lifetime trying to live up to. But while we’re trying, I know one new mom and baby who might be a powerful inspiration.

“Love is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen.” (1 Corinthians 13:8)