Out of the Mouths of Babes

“Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.” Psalm 71:17

                           

This morning, my husband, Scott, our children, Cole and Maya, and I joined our next door neighbors and their extended family for a home church service.  It was really an incredible time of praise.  There were 14 children, ten years and under, playing instruments and dancing as Jeanie played the piano and Frank played guitar.         

                         

While the kids were dancing, I was wondering if they were dancing just because music was playing or if any of them actually were thinking of the Lord and the words of the songs.  As my 6 year old passed by me with his streamer in hand I quietly asked, “Cole what are you thinking about?”  He replied, “Mommy, I’m moving to the beat of God’s heart.”

WOW!  His words hit me like a ton of bricks.  Am I moving in life to the beat of God’s heart? What is the beat of God's heart anyhow?      

                                          

About two months ago, my son, Cole began asking me about a conversation he overheard me having about how the Word says, “Creation cries out of a Creator”.  He is very interested in nature and creation, so he asked me what I meant. I tried to net it down to kidspeak.  I said, “Let’s say you really enjoy one of your toys and that you are very grateful that you have that toy. It would be funny if you praised and thanked that toy for being a toy and for being with you, right?  Because the toy didn’t make itself and it couldn’t give itself to you.  Instead, you should be thankful to the toymaker who made it and grateful to the one who gave it to you, right?  Well, the Bible says that the same is true of things in nature.  We shouldn’t praise the trees for being trees.  They didn't make themselves.  The fact that they exist means that someone made them.  We are supposed to take care of things in natures, but we shouldn’t praise these created things, instead we should praise and thank God because He created the trees and all of nature in the first place.” Cole said that he understood and that he agreed with me.  But I wasn’t really sure how much his little mind understood or even if my words made any sense to him.  At least not until a couple of days ago, that is. 

      

I was driving home from my parents’ house with both kids in the back seat.  It seemed like a much longer trip than normal because Maya, who is now 21 months old, had become very tired of being in her car seat and she began to really fuss.  The wheels were about to come off the wagon, so to speak.  I stopped at Long John Silver’s for a nutritious fried lunch.  Desperate times deserve desperate measures, or so they say.  After we got the food, I asked Cole to help me out by sharing his lunch and feeding Maya since he could reach her from his seat.  Thanks to Cole’s obedience and willingness to help, Maya became distracted with her nutritious french fries and calmed down.  I thought, “I may just make it home sane".  “Cole, thank you – I am really grateful to you for helping Maya, “I said. But he immediately responded with, “Mom, you should really be grateful to God because God made me; and if God hadn’t given me to you, then Maya wouldn’t have a big brother to help her and then things would really be a lot tougher.” 

Again, truth out of the mouths of babes!

      

So, today my lessons have come from God through my six year old son.  And I shall choose to see and hear what can only be seen and heard with the heart.  My prayer is that I will open my spiritual eyes to truly see all the blessings in my life as coming from God - and take the time to praise Him.  The Word says that we have nothing that we have not first been given.  Also in James 1:17, it says, "Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of the Heavenly Lights, with whom there is no shadow of turning." I also pray that God will further open my ears to hear the beat of His heart so that loving others may become as natural to me as dancing is to children. 

       

P.S.  To all of those who have shared wonderful truths in the blog comments, please know they have blessed me immeasurably and I am sure have blessed others who have read them as well.

Also, to those of you who have shared about your own losses of children and about other painful trials, please know that I do not just read them, but that I take the time to pray for you. I intend to continue as God reminds me and I pray that He does.  My little one is in a strange stage of needing me in her room while she falls asleep.  At first I was a bit frustrated that we had to take this step backwards in our nighttime ritual.  But I realized that perhaps God was giving me this time to rock in the chair next to her because of the extra things for which I must now pray and interceed.

Comments

[BeachNanny]

What a wonderful story, you have a smart young man there! It is wonderful to hear a child's wisdom.

Enjoy that extra time with your little one!

I love your blogs, God has truly given you a special voice.

[Beka]

There is definitely a reason God tells us to enter into His kingdom as little children. In some ways they are so much closer to understanding God's ways than we are. Thank God for the little truths they make us see. :)

[Craig in Cow Hampshire]

Please pray for me and my wife, trying to have a family.

[Matt & Rebecca Townsend]

Kerry,

Cole is developing wisdom at your feet and feeding you back as the Lord directs! Praise God!

Maya will soon be much older and before you know it will not be needing the extra time. Enjoy these moments with your Cinderella.

We're praying for you and Scott (and the kids). Can't wait to see y'all again!

[Lori]

Kerry, I just happened on to your webpage when the tragedy happened with the Chapman family. I wanted to tell you how much your devotionals have inspired me and spurred me on in my own walk with the Lord. It has been an instrument for God to use in my life to show me the need to think on Him in a more diligent and real way, to study and ask God for his wisdom and knowledge each day. I have three kids of my own and you have negated my excuse of "kids at my heels" for not studying the Word more often. Thank you for that! Where do you find the time???? Sincerely, Lori D.

[Darlee]

Kerry,

I do enjoy your blog very much! I check it faithfully and have been encouraged immeasurably by your words. Thank you for taking the time to write and encourage everyone. (I thank God for making you! =)

Sincerely,

Darlee

[Christine Perin]

Kerry,
What a wonderful example you are in teaching our children the truths of God! I pray that I do the same. As for your P.S. We too have taken the step backward in our night time rituals. Since the loss of our baby (Jan 12, 2008) Zane has wanted to sleep in our bed. At first, it was a bother, but I find myself linging to have him in bed with us, especially when I am really thinking about Micah. I know that God is using this to help me appreciate the gift He has given me. Thank you for your posts, they are wonderful.
Christine P.

[Debbie from Ohio]

I do enjoy reading your blogs. They are uplifting and I get good reminders from them. I know God uses the little ones in our lives to teach us things also. Cute and wonderful things you shared about your son. It reminds me of a little over a week ago when I had all three of my grandchildren and was treating them to McDonald's. My husband was meeting us there so we were waiting in the car for him until he got there. I just happened to wake up with the worst headache that morning and it wasn't letting up. I asked them to please just "don't talk" for a few minutes because Nana's head really hurts. Papa got there, we ordered the food and after we prayed over our food, I preceded to tell my husband that I'm going to have to stop and get something for my headache, it's the worst one I'd had for a long time. My 8 year old grandson looked at me and said, "you don't need to do that when all you have to do is pray." Well, I said, that's a good idea and you're going to pray for me. so, right there in McDonald's the 5 of us joined hands as my grandson proceeded to REBUKE the headache and ask God to take it away. You're right...."out of the mouths of babes!"

[Berna]

Kerry,

I too had a miscarriage - 12 years ago now and still hurt from it. I was very angry at God for a very long time. I have ALWAYS been a fan of SCC and even when I could not go to God directly I had touch point in SCC's music.

he loss of Maria Sue Chapman and the grace I have seen from the Chapman family and others I have recently discovered(yours and the Mullicans)

I am starting to really feel like there is hope again. Seems so strange to say that after all these years of pent up anger with God. Thank you for your story, ministry, testimony.

[karen]

Hi Kerry,

You and Scott are blessed with two beautiful children that our Heanvely Father have entrusted in your care.

You have nurtured your children well as how Ephesians 6 speaks about it and that is evident in Cole's actions right now. Maya for sure sees all these traits from her brother, and you'll be surprise when she start stringing the words together.

Your words are so deep that it helps heal my borken spirit. May you be reminded that you are such an encouragement to all of sorts of people around the globe.

Press on for His Glory!

In His Love.

[Sarah]

Kerry,
I have not commented since I started reading your blog (I lost my daughter, Ellie, to cancer in December). But I just wanted you to know that I do check in almost every day. Your words and quotes from Scripture have been a wonderful encouragement to my heart these past weeks. This time, I was so blown away by your post... not only because it has the exact same title as my own latest blog post, but because I have my own 'heartbeat of God' story. I hope you won't mind if I share it here.

Only a two months after Ellie was diagnosed with cancer, and had been through a couple rounds of chemo, she got chickenpox. (I won't go into details, but chickenpox on a decimated immune system is a horrific thing.) My husband was showing signs of strain because of juggling work and hospital visits, so we left the kids with his parents and took off on his dad's motorcycle. This is an excerpt from that blog entry:

"As we rode, I couldn't shake the feeling that riding the motorcycle felt so much like life. When I started riding with John years ago I had a lot of trouble in the turns. When the bike would lean, every impulse in me was to fight it. I would get this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that the bike was going to just tip right over. I knew in my head that John was a great driver and there was no way that he would let me fall, but my stomach disagreed! I finally figured it out. If I would lean close to John, lead with my head in the direction of the turn (sometimes even close my eyes), and just leave it in John's hands, all would be well. It struck me on this particular ride that when difficult things happen, all I have to do is lean so close to God that I can hear his hearbeat and when things feel really wrong just lead with my head!" (By 'lead with my head' I meant rely on what I know to be true of the character of God, and not be swayed by feeling.)

I have had many moments that I can point to where I feel as if I heard the heartbeat of God, not the least of which was during the precious outpouring of love from friends and family!

Thank you so much for your faithfulness to share God's word with us.

Sarah (ellieskees.blogspot.com)

[Annie]

Hi Kerry:
I've really enjoyed reading your blogs--thank you for ministering to people through them!
Since you are so connected with Shaohannah's Hope, I wanted to ask you if the Show Hope mission team had ever ended up going to China this week. I haven't heard a peep about it anywhere (understandable I know because of recent circumstances), but I was just curious to see if they had gone or not. I am really hoping to go with them next year if they do another trip, so I'm really eager to see how this first one went.
Thanks!
Annie

[Rick]

Just wanted to let you know how much your blogs have meant to me. I just discovered them today while on Steven Curtis Chapman's website and I tracked them back to May 21st of this year to get your perspective on the tragedy. Thankfully I have not lost a child, but from reading and listening to SCC's interview's, and now from reading your account of what happened to them, I feel like I have experienced just a fraction of the sorrow you and they have unfortunately had to deal with. May God continue to heal your heart and continue to bless you with fresh insight to pass along to the flock.

P.S...have you ever thought about writing a book about dealing with sorrow and maybe compile letters and stories from people you've met and talked to about going down this terrible trail?? I would buy it! :-))

[Rick]

Just wanted to let you know how much your blogs have meant to me. I just discovered them today while on Steven Curtis Chapman's website and I tracked them back to May 21st of this year to get your perspective on the tragedy. Thankfully I have not lost a child, but from reading and listening to SCC's interview's, and now from reading your account of what happened to them, I feel like I have experienced just a fraction of the sorrow you and they have unfortunately had to deal with. May God continue to heal your heart and continue to bless you with fresh insight to pass along to the flock.

P.S...have you ever thought about writing a book about dealing with sorrow and maybe compile letters and stories from people you've met and talked to about going down this terrible trail?? I would buy it! :-))