The Flower

 

The Flower

I'm not very patient and I doubt I'm alone in that category. Few of us like to wait in line, on each other, etc. Sometimes, it's especially difficult when we wait for the good promises of our Lord to come to pass. This entry, from 2-7-07, is about a little girl who waited on me.

You probably don't know Celeste but she is a sweetheart. A first grader at Westbury Christian School, Celeste has a smile that could drive a hurricane back out to sea. She has an older brother and a little baby brother and she is full of life. Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week and many of our students brought flowers for their teachers. On Monday, I saw Celeste in the hallway before school, carrying a small potted plant and I acted like it was for me, thanking her profusely. She patiently explained it was for Mrs. Semanek, her teacher. Of course, I was devastated but she said it would be all right if I came by the first grade classroom to see it on Mrs. Semanek's desk. For the rest of the week, Celeste kept asking me when I was coming by. I really meant to. This is a tremendously busy time for me and I just kept putting it off. Today, she caught me at the water fountain with her fellow six year olds and repeated her question, which has turned into a plea. Her teacher was standing there so I asked Mrs. Semanek about a visit. To my chagrin, she's taken the flower home already. Not to worry; Celeste also presented a plant to Miss McGowan, her music teacher. Celeste wondered if I could go up there and see that flower. I met with Mrs. Semanek and Miss McGowan and tomorrow at 9:30 AM, I will go to Elementary Music class with the first graders to see the potted flower that Celeste brought to school. I will be late to my own high school chapel but I think the Lord, and the powers that be, will be understanding.

This may seem silly to you, making a big deal out of a six year old and a week old flower. But I've seen something you haven't witnessed. I've seen the look in Celeste's eyes when she reminds me over and over. It's the anxious look of a child who has been promised something and is desperately waiting for it to come to pass. I have no idea why it means so much to her....but that's not the point. The point is that it does and I have the power to grant her wish. Lord willing, I will make it right tomorrow. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks to his listeners about parenthood. He calls them evil but still able to give good gifts to their little ones. He softens the evil reference by calling God, "your Father in Heaven." In the same verse in Matthew 7, the Savior goes on to declare how much more God will "give good gifts to those who ask him!" I wonder if God sees the same thing in my eyes that I see in the eyes of Celeste? I find it comforting that Jesus used children as positive examples for the kingdom and then turned around and referred to his apostles with that same term, children. Celeste is a small child. I'm a big kid. Sometimes, there is precious little difference.

Applicable quote of the day:
"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven."
Henry Ward Beecher

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1