October 28 – “Mission accomplished?”

I just want to say thank you today to those of you who encouraged me after my kind of ranting blog the other day.  I appreciate the opportunity to just be a normal human being every now and then and let my flaws be somewhat more visible than they may be most of the time.  And believe me, they are there.  It is great to have friends and family who care.  Keep it coming, and I’ll do my best to reciprocate.

Cailyn was over the other day, and we were in the front yard resting on the grass after a round of dancing at the ball on our front sidewalk.  I suppose we were also entertaining some of the neighbors and passers-by in cars.  By “entertaining” I mean, of course, giving them a huge laugh for the day.  I’m sure we looked pretty goofy – some crachity-looking old dude and a beautiful little three-year-old, hand-in-hand, sweeping majestically around and around in circles and finally flopping onto the grass.  Wouldn’t trade it for anything, though.  Especially the moments of deep discussion that inevitably follow such times of reverie. 

This particular discussion made it into the record books as one of those opportunities for me to impart some grandfatherly wisdom.  Cailyn was holding a little wildflower weed she had picked.  As we lolled in the grass she put it into her mouth and said, “Look, DadDad.  I smoking.”  Seizing the moment I immediately put on my best I-just-ate-something-sour face and said, “Oh, yuck.  You don’t want to smoke.  That is nasty.  And it’s not good for you.”  Now, I knew that her Daddy had smoked for a long time and was working on quitting completely.  I also knew that many of her Mommy and Daddy’s friends still were smokers, so I wondered how she would respond to the gentle scolding.  She took it in stride.  Didn’t even hesitate in her response.  “But my Daddy smokes.”  Yep.  I expected that one.  Undeterred, I forged ahead.  “Well, it’s not good for him, either.”  That’s when I was overwhelmed by a sudden urge to wax philosophical.  Well, maybe not philosophical.  But it just seemed like the right time to throw it out there.  After all, she was the daughter of a fire fighter.  She could make the connection easily enough.  “You know, if God had wanted us to smoke, he would have put a fire inside of us.”  The thought did stop her in her tracks for at least a full second or two.  The wheels were obviously turning in her pretty little head as her brow furrowed and her lips turned downward on one side.  Until suddenly she brightened.  I sagely thought to myself, “Ah, she has it now.  This is an ah-ha moment she will never forget.”  Well, she may remember it, but not exactly like I had hoped.  See, that brightening was followed by an unexpected explosion of laughter.  When she was able to contain herself, she called out to Chris, who was sitting on the front porch, “Hey, Nana.  DadDad said if Daddy smokes, Jesus is gonna put him on fire.”  OK.  Not the response I had hoped for.  A memorable image, I’m sure, but not exactly theologically accurate.  She did stop smoking the weed, though.  Mission accomplished?

Psalms 36:7 says, “How priceless is your unfailing love!  Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.”

Father, thank you for friends and family, and for lessons learned.  Amen.