“What do you think heaven’s like?”
Seated around the sticky kitchen island in the early morning
humidity, my children and I wake up slowly.
I am on a second or third cup of reheated coffee. They spill milk and cereal and crunch
chocolate toast. In a moment of quiet,
my oldest son poses his question.
Still focused on my coffee, wrapped in a fog of sleepiness
I’m reluctant to leave, I reply, “I’m not sure.
What do you think it’s like?”
Perched on a high wooden stool, he pontificates, and his
picture of heaven includes the absence of bickering.
There’s been a lot of bickering this morning and every
morning, especially now as summer begins its waning. In fact, first thing that morning I scolded
the boys for their non-stop verbal warfare.
My sleepy brain picks up on the no-fighting thing and in my
best grumpy old man voice, I growl out a version of God, “Hey, cut that
out. No fighting allowed in here.”
Wrapped in the joy of his own ideas, my son pauses and turns
to give me a quizzical look. Eyebrows
arched, head cocked to the side, quick as a whip, he replies, “He’s not that
grumpy.”
His correction causes a pause, then we both laugh, surprised by his nimble reply. In four
short words, my son defended his own understanding of the heart of God, God’s
own disposition.
I am grumpy.
Especially in the early morning, when humidity is at 90% and little
sweaty, sleepy people are squabbling all around me.
But God is not.
And the fact that my son not only sees, but
defends the difference, is a great source of joy.
* * *
Welcome to the #SmallWonder link-up.
What if we chose to deliberately look for the small moments of wonder, the small sparks of presence, of delight or sorrow, of true humanity in which we meet God?
That’s my proposal – that we gather here each week to share one moment of Wonder from each of our days.
You’re invited to link-up a brief post about a small moment of wonder. Don’t worry if your post is too long, too short, or not just right – you’re welcome to come as you are.
While you’re here, please do take a look around and encourage at least one other blogger with a comment.
Yes I agree with your son, He's not grumpy. What a wonderful conversation and thank you for sharing. Blessings to you all this week.
Lovely 🙂 Children understand the concept of grace so intuitively.
Yes, I agree with your son. I am so grateful our God is not grumpy. Even more grateful that He is not like we are. May He change us to be more like Him. Have a great week!
Oh, through the eyes of a child. They do have a way of cutting to the chase, don't they? I always have cherished my kids' unintentional wisdom — glad that you wrote it down and shared it with all of us!
Ha. We all have those grumpy moments so don't be too hard on yourself, Kelly. Thankful though that God is never grumpy! That sounds like heaven to me too. 🙂
Love it! That boy's a keeper. 🙂
That is one smart boy you have there! So grateful he is not grumpy… even when I am! 😉
I can so relate. This mom of 5 is a little on edge and it may show. I'm praying His grace be magnified above my grumpy. Happy to have backtracked here from Karilee's post.
He is gracious to our grumpy selves. "His picture of heaven…" These words remind me that while God has revealed something of heaven to us, he has left room for wonder. Your son's imaginings of peace, is wonderful.
Love the wisdom of children!! So fresh and pointed!