Thursday, February 07, 2008

Knowing The Right Answer

She always has a lot to say, my youngest, and this day was no exception. She jumped in the van and began.

"Mom, you know what Dillon* said to me today?"

"No, what?" I geared myself up for the detailed description.

"Well, he was being mean to Heather."

"Mmm hmm." I confess. I wasn't listening too closely. Sometimes the sagas of a nine-year-old just don't trip my trigger.

"So I asked him if he went to church."

Suddenly this one was getting better. "Yeah. . ."

"And he said, 'No, I don't need to go to church.' So I said, 'Well, I could teach you about Jesus if you want.'"

"What did he say?"

"He was like, 'Yeah, well I could teach you about my fist and your A-S-S.'"

"Whoa. He really said that?"

"Yeah, well, he spelled it out like that."

"What did you do?"

"I went, 'O. . .kkaay,'" She rolled her eyes a bit. "Then I played somewhere else. I wasn't going to tell the teacher, but Heather did and he had to sit on the ledge. He's always sitting on the ledge."

"Maybe he has a tough life at home."

"I know. Other kids say both his mom and step-dad smoke (not sure why this is scandalous to 3rd graders, but I can deal with it) and his real dad's in prison and he lives with his grandma."

"Poor guy."

"Yeah."

"Does it make you worry about mentioning Jesus and church to other kids?"

"No, not really. He's always saying stuff like that. It didn't bother me. But you know what was kind of weird? At recess Sam and I were making tracks in the snow and all of a sudden Dillon started doing it with us."

"Maybe he needs a friend."

"Yeah, we just let him play with us."

Don't you just love it?! A kid who not only thinks Jesus is the answer to everything, but one who can overlook an insult and play along with the offender later.


Lord Jesus, thank You for Your touch in my daughter's life. Help me be more like her, innocently seeing the need for You among the people she encounters
and unapologetically offering You to them. Bring back my child like faith that is ever willing to speak of You, not quick to take things personally and easily forgives. Thank You for a lesson in love from a nine-year-old.


*All the children's names have been changed to protect them.

To find more Thankful Thursday posts, visit Sting My Heart.

14 comments:

Rachelle said...

Can it be that your daughter was showing.......Grace??? What a perfect example! Love the smoking comment too. Fits right in.

Susan said...

Ahh, how touching.

We have so much to learn from our children. I just did!

Happy TT Tami...

Heather said...

That is truly wonderful. Kids know Jesus is the answer! It's awesome that she didn't let his comment stifle her.

Mary Lou said...

Thanks for sharing. What a blessing you have in her...you must be setting a good example and she has picked up on it...May she continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ...

Denise said...

What an amazing girl! To be so young and have such a clear vision of life and what really matters - wonderful! Denise R.

Denise said...

May God always sweetly bless your children.

eph2810 said...

Tami - I so often wonder what in the world happens to our child-like faith. I think it so wonderful that your daughter is actually living her faith out-loud and is teaching you at the same time.

Thank you so much for sharing your gratefulness with us this week.

Blessings to you and yours...

eph2810 said...

BTW - love your new blog-design :)

Lelia Chealey said...

Tami~
That is so sweet! I loved that...thanks for sharing & obviously teaching your daughter to do what God wants her to do.
Love,
Lelia (LCS alum):)
P.S. I have a pic of KC Dworak & the volleyball team on my blog right now...you'll have to check it out & let me know who you recognize. :)

Lelia Chealey said...

Also~love the look of your blog. Very pretty! :)

Lelia Chealey said...

Lol...
from left to right...top row 1st
Coach Lockyer
Sheryl Anderson
Me :)
Lori Swanigan
Tracey Poppema
Cynthia Jensen
Coach Rex
KC Dworak
Tami Lyman
Joy Pearson #2
Traci Nash
Amy Calfee #4
Kelley Dworak (KC's older sis)

Thank GOD we've changed!!! :)

Brenda said...

MMMMMM. What a sweet girl.

Anonymous said...

That was such a sweet story!! Your daughter doesn't realize it yet but she is a little missionary right there in her school!! I can tell you have taught her well. Of course, I'm not surprised. You're teaching me all the time through your writing!! :)

By the way, I LOVE your new blog design! I let out a little squeal when it popped up because I absolutely LOVE waterfalls!!

Dianne said...

I wondered you'd been and then I realized you just weren't showing up in Google reader. Anyways - this is so precious. What we can learn from kids, huh?