I walked into the house after a disappointing day. He came around the corner with a huge smile on his face and melted my heart.
I put my things away, gave him some cuddles, and he informed me he wanted to eat. He happily munched on his apple slices and devoured his waffle. He tried some new things and fed me cheese. He had a difficult time understanding that we didn't have any more pouches and he had to eat what was on his plate. He pitched a little fit, but still, he melted my heart. We went outside to play on the slide while we waited for Daddy to get ready. He pushed the doorbell on his little house and said, "knock knock" and waited for me to respond with "ding dong". He climbed up the steps and slid down the slide on his belly, then ran around to do it again. I sat on the sidewalk and watched his sweet self, climbing and sliding and pushing his doorbell. He melted my heart. After going to the store to get diapers and pouches and bananas (three things very important to my 1 year old), I followed him into his room to help him put away his diapers. He laid on his bed, patted it, and said, "Mama!" I laid down next to him and he grinned a happy grin, and he melted my heart. I took off his shirt, because it was soaked with water. He rubbed his skin because it felt so good to be a little freer. He walked into the living room to get Daddy and round him up as if thinking, We should all be together. Please Daddy, come in here with us. He ran back into his room to find me. Daddy sat in the chair, but he patted the mattress and said, "Dada!". "I'm too big, Bubbuh, you come sit with me." So he sat in his Daddy's lap, shirtless, and listened to him read about a zebra with rainbow stripes. They melted my heart. He found his measuring cups in his basket and ran to the stove to cook something for us. He returned to give us each a bite. He found his water bottle full of beads and laughed hysterically while Daddy shook it all around his body and through his legs. He tried to do it himself, and he melted my heart. These are the moments that melt my heart. The moments that happen every day, under my nose, and I often fail to notice. Imagine the joy my heart would find, if I would simply stop more often and take it in. Toddlers are great. Like, totally my favorite. Part of me wishes that Baby Boy would not grow beyond now and would stay a toddler forever. Then, as I have more kids, they would all grow to toddlerhood and stop, as well. Eventually, I would have a house full of bubbly, independent, exploring, toddling kiddos.
That being said....communication with a toddler can be very difficult. They come to you chattering nonsense, repeating it over and over waiting for you to do what they ask. All the while you stand there, dumbfounded, as you try to figure out what on earth the rascal is telling you. Sometimes, the little one will just give up and move on, because it wasn't that important to them, anyhow. But when it is very important, they will continue. You use cues from your surroundings. "Do you want the hippo?" Or you ask them, "Can you show me? Show me what you are talking about." Eventually, with enough work on your part, you can usually figure out what the little munchkin is getting at. Sometimes, I feel like communicating with God is a lot like communicating with a toddler. He tries so hard to tell us something. But somehow, we just can't figure it out. Sometimes, we may not even hear Him. Other times, we know He is speaking, but His words are gibberish. If it's important to Him, He will continue. At this point, we start to use cues from our surroundings. Looking at our lives and what is going on around us. Speaking to trusted friends or loved ones. Perhaps they have the discernment to understand what God is trying to say. Or...perhaps, we just aren't listening close enough. Either way, hopefully, we will eventually figure out what the big guy is getting at. I'm listening really close, today. |
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