September 5 – “Snickerers”

Yesterday was not a particularly exciting one for me.  I spent pretty much the whole day working at the computer, preparing for a meeting and teaching this afternoon, the sermon on Sunday, the Bible Study here at the house on Thursday, and the youth group study tonight.  I also took some phone calls in there that took up some serious time.  I did get out of the house briefly.  I went over to the bank and then to Office Depot.  I found out that they don’t carry handicapped parking signs.  Apparently you have to order them over the internet.  So … business as usual for me.

Chris went to meeting about dementia at Libbie’s Place last night.  She didn’t learn anything new.  The things they spent time talking about were all things that we went through and confronted with Dad when he had Alzheimer’s.  Mom is doing some of the same things, but Chris has already been doing what they taught to be the “right” approach to handling the behaviors. 

Josh called.  He talked to Chris for a long time.  That reminded me of something he posted the other day.  Seems they had been to hear a special report from one of their special groups at church that had just returned from a mission trip to the Ukraine.  They were one of the few families there with small children, but of course Zak and Caleb behaved admirably throughout the presentation.  It’s always hard to tell what goes through the mind of young children in those “adult-type” atmospheres.  Do they really get anything out of it?  Are they paying any attention whatever to little things like the sermon?  Churches usually don’t have much opportunity for feedback from the little guys, although I have seen some incredible things in pictures youngsters have drawn during one of my sermons.  It’s amazing to hear or see just how much they did get from the so-called “adult stuff.”  So it really didn’t come as that much of a surprise to me when, in that moment between the completion of the report and the beginning of the appreciation applause, Caleb saw fit to provide his input into the situation.  “I went to Narnia,” he announced.  That brought two very distinctly different reactions.  The folks who didn’t have children looked in their direction with expressions ranging from embarrassment to horror.  On the other hand, the response of those who did have children could be heard throughout the room.  It could best be described as a mass snicker.  I’m with the snickerers. 

Psalms 27:4 says, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

Father, bring harmony between the snickerers and non-snickerers of the world.  Amen.