Stories…

Stories… 3-18-25

My grandson started something when he was little. “Tell me a ghost story.” Now you should know that his ghost stories don’t involve ghosts. These are just stories that I make up as I go. Mostly they involve animals and kids and the end result is helping, being nice, or understanding right and wrong. I will tell one and then he has to tell a story. Then I tell another. This activity for an educator has multiple purposes. This activity for me is a lifetime of memories. When given a choice at night one more video or story, he will put down the videos for the story. That makes my Moppy heart smile because this kid is addicted to technology.

This past week I was telling a story about the turtle who had to find his place to spend the winter. My grandson began to slowly crawl like a turtle across the bed. As I explained the turtle became sleepy and went into his shell, he curled up as a turtle and put a blanket over him to represent his shell. I then went on about some birds laughing at the poor turtle, and a mouse who corrected them quickly. The story involved a desperate attempt to wake the turtle up by knocking on the shell as the snow began to blow. Then the creatures had to help the poor turtle bury himself in the mud to protect him during the cold winter months. My grandson ended this story curled up in his bed with two covers (one was his shell and the other was the mud, leaves, and snow) and we went to sleep.

You see, as children we listen to the father. We ask for advice, seek his guidance, hold to his hand, and are covered by his protection and love. As children grow, they become more rebellious, not wanting to be under the protection or seek advice from the father. The period of leaning on the father, holding his hand, and looking for guidance ends. The child grows into an adult and no longer feels like he needs the father for the same things that were essential to him as a child. As the child grows into an older person, he realizes the significance of what was often thought of as an intrusion when he was younger. He realizes the Father's purpose, his love, and his guidance.

I love the significance of understanding as a child we need our father. As a Christian, we need our Father. We need His love, guidance, direction, and discipline. The difference between us and a child is the understanding that this is not for a period as we grow. This is as we grow until we reach our Heavenly home. We grow and learn to depend on our Father for His goodness, His discipline, His mercy, and His love. We learn to seek His face and His guidance in everything. My husband said this morning as we were talking, "I seek him anytime I am doing anything." One of the ladies at the Women's Bible Study on Sunday night said close to the same thing, "I love how we can pray about anything. We can ask Him to help us with anything." For me that anything could even be learning to bake bread.

Psalms 36: 7 “How precious is Your Lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.”