Want Some Candy?

"Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—" Proverbs 1:5

My wife, Brooke, and I have been married since March of 2002 and we have since been overwhelmingly blessed with 4 beautiful and healthy children. Our oldest child and only daughter, Kate, will turn 8 in March and even later than that if I had any sort of say so. She is a beautiful and brilliantly curious child whose relentless questions about life and everything in it requires me, at times, to ask her for a break from serving as her encyclopedia. She's a special girl. She, fortunately, has more of her mom's personality (where it counts) than mine even though Brooke somehow can immediately identify the things Kate does that are "her daddy" and the things Kate does that are "her mama". It's a highly predictable pattern.

At the ripe old age of 3 1/2 Kate made a completely understood and conscious decision to ask Jesus to come into her heart. She blows my mind at times with the way she grasps the reality of that decision. She has never looked back and has held amazingly fast to the decision she made that night. She constantly uses words like "maybe" and "might" in situations because she fears stating an untruth. She is literally the most respectful and caring child I have ever met and, without knowing, she is always, and I mean always teaching Daddy. I just want to share a "for example" with you here.

On Friday afternoon, we picked up our oldest two from school and drove 2 1/2 hours to Macon for my niece's birthday party. We had a wonderful time eating bratwurst and doritos and watching the kids swim and play. My sister made decorated cups of candy for all the kids and gave them out as everyone was leaving a few hours later. As we were loading up the car and I was make my goodbye rounds, my wife and daughter had a seemingly normal conversation that my wife shared with me on the way home after all the kids had fallen asleep. Here's the conversation, word for word.

"Mommy? You know how the bible says that if you do something for somebody that God will do something for you or something like that?"
"Yes baby. Why?"
"Because you know how I really like Now-and-Laters but Nana (my mom) does too?"
"Yes."
"Well there weren't enough cups for any adults so I gave Nana all of my Now-and-Laters. But then Rylie (my other niece) came to me and she doesn't like Tootsie Rolls so she gave me all of hers and Tootsie Rolls are my favorite. I didn't even know she didn't like them."
"Maybe God is trying to show you His faithfulness."
"I know. That's pretty cool isn't it?"

God? Please, please, please keep me teachable.