This past Saturday, I spent most of the day “alone” with my
11-year old son; just the two of us at home. After exhausting indoor activities, we decided to go
outside. We sat in the grass in our
front yard and there found a colony of those tiny spiders that make little
inverse volcano shaped holes in the ground.
We spent quite a while spilling small amounts of sand into one of the
holes and then watching the little spider dig it out again. We laughed in amazement each time we saw the
dirt start to fly out of the hole. My
son said, “That spider sure has a good work ethic. I wonder what he thinks is happening up here.” Of course, we then found some tiny little
ants to throw into the hole to see if we could get the spider to come out and
take the bait. Luckily for the ants, he
didn’t. He must’ve gotten wise to us
because he even stopped clearing out the little bits of dirt we would throw in.
While we were sitting there playing with the spider, a duck
flew over and landed in one of the trees in our yard. He then flew to our neighbor’s pond only to
be chased out by the geese that are nesting there. We watched as he tried to land in several different
spots only to be chased out again. My
son said, “I guess that pond isn’t big enough for the both of them.” I laughed.
“I said, ya know there’s an old saying like that. “ He said, “I guess the old person who said it
must’ve had geese in his pond too.”
He asked me what I thought animals think about. I said, “I suppose they think about food,
shelter and taking care of their babies.”
He was quiet for a while, “they’re a lot like us aren’t they? Except, we know God created us and they don’t.” He was quiet again and then said, “Actually,
I think they know Him too because they love their babies.” I smiled and nodded as I looked into his very
serious big brown eyes, “Yes, I think you must be right.”
We decided to get some exercise by walking around the
yard. The sun was setting and each time
we walked in front of the house, he would walk to the edge of the fence, past
the trees in our yard and see how low the sun was getting in the sky. “Next time around it should be perfect!” he
said. It took three more laps before he
decided it was perfect. The sky was
scattered with several billowing clouds through which the sun streaked
brilliant pinks, lavenders, and golden rays.
We stood in silence watching the spectacular event. After several minutes, I looked over at my
beautiful son; the warm glow of the setting sun lit up his face like a
candle. I stroked his smooth, still
rounded youthful cheek. He looked at me
and smiled. I smiled back. “You were right, this time is perfect.”
What a gift he gave me that day; to be 11. To be completely in the moment; to have deep
thoughts about spiders, geese, ducks and sunsets. Through him I got a glimpse of the Kingdom.
Matthew 18:3 – “And he said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and
become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
