Little children and big stories....

"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." (Mark 9:37)

I have been having a bit of a hair crisis. Now I won't say it is as bad as the bad perm and subsequent bad hair-cut of 84, but a crisis non-the-less. I have gone so far as to have my hair relaxed in attempt to let it grow out looking half way decent. I know you all feel for me.

As I was putting my youngest daughter to bed the night following having my hair relaxed, I hugged and kissed Maggie and she said in all of her mature 5 year oldness: "Mommy, I hate to tell you this, but I think Mittens (our cat) peed on you hair last night."

I responded: "No. Honey, Mommy had some yucky stuff put on her hair to make it look better, the cat didn't pee on my hair."

She pointed at my hair and said: "MOM, Yes! Mittens peed on your hair and YOU need to take a shower!"

Me: "Okay Mags, good night."

IT was not an argument I was going to win!

In terms of family legend, this one will be told at Dinner tables for generations. It got me to thinking of the stories about my growing up.

When my brother was little, he was told it was okay to for a boy to pee in the park on a tree...having the equipment to do so. He didn't quite understand when he did so at a restaurant that happened to have a huge oak tree in the middle of the court yard of the place and everyone seemed to freak out!

When my mom was very little, her parents took her to Radio City Music Hall for a concert. Evidently it was quite the hoyty-toyty event. When they began to play the William Tell Overture, mom stood up and yelled: "It's the Lone Ranger!" Her mom tried to disappear into her seat!

I was about four when our parents took us to Lake George for the first time. I was about to jump into the pool and shouted: "Geromeo!" Evidently I had combined Romeo and Geronimo...I guess I had always loved a romance and a good western!

My favorite family story and the one most tender to my heart is my dads. His mom was not a well woman. At one point after another stroke, the children were place in an orphanage until she was well again. It was the around 1939 or 1940 and times "were tough all over" as he use to say. No one believed she would ever see her children again, much less come to get them. No one, that is except a little boy name Edy Brennan, my dad, who about 4 years old.
He told the story that he prayed every night that "Mama" would could come get him and his sisters and brothers so they would be home for Christmas. Each night, for months and months he would call out to God to rescue them and bring them home. Some of the boys teased him about it. He kept saying he would be home by Christmas.
On Christmas Eve night, he was in his bed, crying out to the God of all who had not said yes to his prayer. His faith was at the point of breaking. How could this God abandon him? His tiny heart was crushed...but the God of all already had a plan in motion...
At midnight, Mama pulled up in a cab, woke up all the nuns and brothers and stormed into the orphanage to get her babies to bring them home for Christmas! No one was happy with Mrs. Brennan's ruckus to get her babies to bring them home in the middle of the night! But she didn't care.
She piled the lot of them into that cab and went home to Brooklyn, where there were no toys, no tree and almost no food. But no cared, they were home! They got to be a family that Christmas morning. God rescued my daddy from the pit of despair. God is never late, He is always just on time.

We all have our stories don't we?



How about you?

Do have the silly stories that make you giggle years later? Have you told them to your children? Can you ask your parents for a "good one" about when you were little and silly? Is there one that makes you tender towards your folks or you God?

Let's pray:
Father in the name of Jesus, thank You. You never let us reach the pit do you? I love that You are the God who created the giraffe, the platypus and the hippo! I love that we can make You smile! Since we know that we are created in Your image, we know that You know all about humor! You also know the heart of despair. You are never late and You never let us down. Even when our hearts are in desperate, you reach us at our understanding. How marvelous that You never, ever let us down.
Amen.