March 1 – “Imaginary or … ?”

A lot of people at Josh’s new church seem to want to hear stories from his childhood.  I’m not sure if they want to get to know him better or if they want something to hold over his head.  Apparently he has told a story or two since he has been here, and they at least wanted some confirmation.  The interest in particular centered around Josh’s childhood imaginary friend, an mysterious entity named “Boy.”  Seems he told about Boy from his warped perspective in one of his sermons.  But Chris was quick to set him in his place and correct any misconceptions that may have arisen, all in the interest of truth, of course.  And we have to keep Boy happy, too.  See the thing about that particular imaginary friend is … he was Kel’s friend originally. 

That’s right.  As a youngster Kel had an imaginary friend he also called Boy.  When Boy quit appearing to him, we never mentioned him again, and certainly never to Josh.  Yet at roughly the same age Kel had been, Boy apparently introduced himself to Josh and resumed his antics.  He was quite the little prankster, too.  He must have been because anytime anything bad happened Boy was to blame.  You know.  Bad.  Like not getting schoolwork done – “Boy was talking too much and I couldn’t concentrate.”  Or not cleaning his room – “I didn’t get that out, Boy did.”  It was just … eerie when the same imaginary friend reappeared to carry out the same very real antics.  We fully expected him to return when Nathan “came of age,” but sadly he must have been busy wreaking havoc in another household.  Either that or Nathan hasn’t yet come of age.  Not sure which.  But we were forced to re-evaluate the whole “imaginary” designation.  After all, even in the ancient Hebrew legal system, the testimony of two witnesses was enough to verify something as truth.  But can something imaginary be declared true?  It’s enough to make my head hurt.  I kind of think the real reason Josh had three children and Kel had four, while Nathan only had one, is that Josh and Kel were providing real life playmates for their kids.  They didn’t want to have to deal with Boy from the perspective of a parent.  They knew the kind of mayhem Boy could bring with him to the household.  But I have to say, there may be more “Boy-ish” influence at play in this household than they care to admit.  Zak and Caleb told us about an adventure they had exploring the creek bed behind their house with their dad.  They talked about twists and turns and climbing up banks to avoid washouts and sliding down from precarious peaks perched on their Daddy’s back.  Nani made a comment that such adventures sounded quite dangerous.  Zak’s reply, “It’s gotta be dangerous.  That’s the only way it’ll be fun.”  That’s my boy.  Or is it “Boy”?

I offered to come to the church and speak in the guise of preaching one day.  That would give me a great opportunity to reveal some more deep, dark childhood secrets.  One guy responded, “But we only have an hour.”  Good point.  So as he walked out the door chuckling, I replied, “So invite me for a week of revival.” 

Genesis 21:20 says, “God was with the boy as he grew up.”

Father, I know that’s not really an appropriate reference, but I appreciate you walking with our boys as they grew up.  Don’t stop now.  And walk our grandchildren as well.  Amen.