Put the Tools Up

     There is a magnetic kid force that pulls kids into the garage when Dad has out his tools.  True to this force, one morning Shea had assumed the position along side his father, Kevin, in the garage.  Knowing that Shea was undoubtedly getting in to the tools, Kevin would periodically say, "Shea, put the tools up." Shea would sometimes shoot a glance his way but continued working.  Growing nervous, again he checked in on his son only to find him with a screwdriver!  This time Kevin stopped working and went to him.  He looked at Shea, trying not to lose his patience and said, "Shea, I said put the tools up."  With a confused facial expression Shea slowly, briefly held the screwdriver up in the air toward the ceiling then innocently went back to the work he had been so intent on doing.
     Efficient communication requires the understanding of both parties involved.  Chances are if we are saying the same things over and over it is not the listener that needs adjusting, but perhaps the speaker.  Situations can be approached in so many ways!  If one approach does not work, keep an open mind. There is a big difference between being heard and being understood.

Jump Over it!

     One morning, my son decided to dump out his seemingly never ending bucket of mega blocks.  While I tried to finish getting ready for the day, he proceeded to build a tower.  One block at a time he gradually added story upon story to his mega block building.  With each added increment of height he would exclaim various shouts of excitement about how big it was: "Wow!" "Look how tall!" "Mom, isn't it big?"  He worked until he was sure it was the biggest tower that he could possibly make.  I looked at the giant tower in our hallway and asked, "Well, what are you going to do with it?"  Without hesitation, as if planned from the beginning he replied as if it was silly that I even had to ask..."I'm gonna jump over it."
     Life brings challenges.  Some are fun and some are rough.  None of us are immune to the inevitable mega block walls that pop up in our lives.  No matter the size let us face them with courage.  Knowing that with faith and the Lord's will aligned with our own, we too can 'Jump Over It."

One Taco Please

     When my daughter was born, my son was just fifteen months old.  Needless to say we did not go out to eat much; but when we did it was almost always Taco Tuesdays at our favorite Mexican restaurant.  The kids became quite familiar with this dinner choice and loved it.  The colors were bright and the music was almost always louder than we were.  The front door, without effort, placed you right in the line to order, then around the corner you picked up your food when it was ready.  One day, my then two year old son, Shea, marched into that restaurant with a purpose.  He bypassed the line and went right to the pick up window, held up his little finger and said, "one taco please."  The employees just could not resist; so sure enough they quickly wrapped up a soft taco in foil and held it out for him to take.  His sweet little hand that barely reached above the counter claimed its prize and went to sit in our usual booth that faced the adobe suns on the wall.
   I realized several lessons from this one small experience.  Too often in our lives we feel inspired or prompted to move our feet in a certain direction for the Lord but we are really good at talking ourselves out of it based on our own, somewhat inhibiting, prior knowledge.  "The line starts here, you have to have money, you can't just cut everyone else..." which are all true and should courteously be practiced in restaurants! haha  But in life we sometimes need to let go of the 'way things are' philosophy and trust in the Lord.  Have courage enough to move our feet....have faith enough to ask.  In some brilliantly, unexpected way, you just might receive your, 'One Taco Please.'
     The Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has commanded us to become as little children.  As a mother of six, I feel very blessed, for I suppose that makes me an understudy to several!   In the course of my 'study' I've learned an important lesson.  When we set out on a search for something extraordinary, we might just miss the ordinary miracles in our lives.