Come as a Child...

My grandchildren make me laugh. Sometimes, I forget what a blessing that is, but not usually. Usually, I'm looking for the next laughable antic. They are so very funny.

Today, the four of them decided to 'put on a show' outside. They put together 8 large rubber puzzle squares to use as a stage. They turned a wash tub upside-down on top of their 'stage'...It became a platform for 'the star.' Then, they took turns being 'the star'. Each one was allowed by the others, without it being spoken, to stay on the platform as long as he/she wanted.

The first, Ethan, got on the tub and promptly decided he preferred to play his air guitar from the stage rather than the platform. Diva Brenna then mounted the platform and sang a song about loving people, then changed it to her Prims song.

Then Alana got up and had an immediate attack of 'shy'.
So I said, "Watcha wanna do, Lana?"
She shrugged her shoulders.
I started making suggestions: "Sing?"
No.
"Dance?"
No.
"How about just standing there, smiling and looking pretty?"
She smiled her greatest smile as if overjoyed that I'd found her forte, stood there a few more seconds just smiling, then hopped off so Savanah, the youngest and usually, shyest, could have her turn.

Savanah surprised us all by singing, "Jesus Loves Me"...over and over and over. Every time she got to the end and we all thought she was done, she'd start right back at the beginning again. After a while, we started laughing...I was afraid she'd think we were laughing at her in a negative way, but she seemed to enjoy it, and continued.

Eventually, she stopped and Brenna 'encouraged' all of them to group together because it was now time to sing, "We are Family...I got all my cousins and me!" That lasted a few seconds with all of them skipping and hopping around the stage while she was really the only one singing.

It's a funny thing, watching them all play together. Brenna likes to tell everyone what to do and her mouth runs nonstop. Where I might find it aggravating, her sister and cousins all take her totally in stride. If she says something they like, they go with it, if not, they go about their business just as if she never spoke...And she just keeps right on talking.

So, at the end of the "We are Family" thing, they sort of scatter...within the stage area, that is. Savanah, who has discovered she sort of likes the platform, mounts it again and begins singing, "Jesus Loves Me". Alana has decided she likes playing drums. She kneels at the base of the tub platform and beats it with two sticks. Ethan hops around like a head-banger, playing his air guitar, and Brenna moves to whatever spot he vacates, singing some teen-age bubble-gum song and trying to move like she's sixteen. She can't, so the scene is that much more humorous.

They were each having a blast...Playing within their own space and world there on that little homemade stage. Without planning or discussing at length, they had peaceable, loud fun. They easily ignored that which annoyed, and moved on with just enjoying the moment.

I don't think I need to spell out the point. Instead, I'll just end this right here, with a sigh of longing and a remembering about Scripture. Somewhere in there, we are told to be as little children. Watching them today, I think I understand that a little bit better than I did yesterday.