OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES
Blog Post #65
Unexpected delights are the best! We enjoyed one this weekend when our son called randomly in need of a babysitter! After a bit of back and forth, it was decided to have our two grandchildren spend the night. All smiles, we traveled down 24 towards Toledo a couple hours later to pick them up.
They’re young, a two and a one-year-old, and they bring ridiculous amounts of pure joy when we’re in their space. It can’t be helped. No matter what we’re dealing with, all four of our grandchildren are like a sweet elixir...they just make us happy and the world seems suddenly right and good. I also find that their youthful innocence often gives me pause. Sometimes the pause is more pronounced, as was the case this past Friday night.
We had just arrived back in Bryan when our granddaughter, Quinn, picked up a small book that was laying on the ottoman in my office. It was a copy of the “Magnificat: Rosary for a Eucharistic Revival.” There are lots of pictures, one for every mystery of the Rosary and she began perusing the pages. All was well as she asked me on every page, “What is this picture, Grandma?”
All was well, that is, until she got to the Sorrowful Mysteries.
To be honest, I was doing some mental gymnastics, trying to figure out if I should shut this thing down and redirect her attention...or carry on. I was still in the contemplation stage, while putting pajamas on her brother, Colton, when I noticed that she had already seen the pictures of the Scourging at the Pillar, the Crowning with Thorns, and the Carrying of the Cross. Yikes! What to do?
Quinn is bright and curious...and persistent...and she insisted on knowing why they were hitting Jesus, why he didn’t have any clothes on, and why they were being so mean to Him.
Try explaining the Crucifixion to a two-year-old. I needed a few dress rehearsals, but there was no time. It was opening night and my audience of one was waiting for a response. What to say? How to say it? What words/thoughts would she understand? In the end, I tried to dance around it, but she wasn’t having it. She wanted more than I was giving her and she continued to persistently ask questions.
“Use your words, Carol. You can do this.”
I really needed those dress rehearsals, but time was not in my favor, so I took the plunge and did my best.
She listened and seemed to comprehend, but it was hard to say what was going through her innocent young mind. She simply said, “I want Jesus to be happy.”
I almost sobbed on the spot. Out of the mouth of babes, “I want Jesus to be happy,” she repeated.
“Oh, Quinny-poo, so do I,” I reassured her. “I really want Jesus to be happy.”
I marveled at how she knew that Jesus was sad and miserable, and that she didn’t like it one bit. I said a quick prayer that she would always want Jesus to be happy and that she would live her life trying to make Him happy.
Then I thought about the days ahead and how this “incident” with Quinn could provide a pretty potent reflection going into Holy Week. I thought to myself, what would it take, within my control, to make Jesus happy? And what is keeping me from doing it right now?
I know from experience that those are some pretty in-depth questions that take honest reflection. I also know from experience that there will be some pain points.
But this is Jesus we’re talking about here. You know, the Guy Who died on the cross for our sins. Doesn’t that fact make it worth our reflection time? Isn’t He worth it?
I don’t know about you, but I agree with Quinn. And I’m old enough now to know that I play a role, that I need to take some responsibility, and that my actions can affect Jesus’ emotional well-being. We can’t just WANT something, we have to also DO something.
Holy Week is a great week to begin again, to supercharge our efforts, to become more of who Jesus created us to be. Perhaps my two-year-old granddaughter, Quinn, is a spark for all of us with her simple and innocent proclamation ~ “I want Jesus to be happy.”