March 29 – “No strawberries”

Cailyn spent the night with us last night.  Always a unique experience, to be sure.  This time, though, she was coming from softball practice and a nice bath afterwards, so she was not expected to make it long past 8:00.  Not that she didn’t do her best to stay awake.  I know the feeling.  It overtakes me most Sunday afternoons.  Well, OK … most afternoons.  Finally Chris offered her a strawberry or two.  And that set us both off.

I told her she couldn’t have strawberries, which, of course, made her want them all the more.  So I told her again, “No strawberries.”  And again, “No strawberries.”  And again, “No strawberries.”  I used every strange voice I could come up with to say , “No strawberries.”  I made weird faces to emphasize, “No strawberries.”  But still she took bite after bite. 

Her snack finally depleted, we decided to read a book.  Horton Hears a Strawberry was the first suggestion.  Nope.  Not enough strawberries.  She finally found a child’s alphabet teaching book, letter “S” for Strawberry.  We hoped to find at least one strawberry inside.  Sadly, we were disappointed.  No strawberries in the little “S” kid’s box.  Undaunted, we read on, adding our own strawberries to the story.  How, you may ask?  Well, strawberry me this, Batman …

Have you ever tried to add the word “strawberry” in front of every word that starts with an “S”?  Then read a book and do the same thing?  It strawberry suddenly strawberry settles into a strawberry situation of strawberry silliness strawberry saturation.  Go ahead.  Test your mettle.  Next time you go on FaceBook, add “strawberry” to all those random “S” words out there.  Better yet, do it next time you and a friend are carrying on a strawberry simple conversation.  It’s pretty much guaranteed to elicit at least a – are you ready for it? – strawberry smile.

Mark 4:30-32 says, “Again he said, ‘What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?  It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.  Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.’”

Father, thank you for strawberries and smiles and special people to share them with.  Amen.