"The Man"

Today our sweet little friend, Hayley, gave me a precious gift. Shelly will tell the story much better since she heard Hayley say it, but I believe the basic conversation was something like this. When Shelly told Hayley this afternoon that they were going to stop by our house for a few minutes, she was very excited about seeing Little John, Courtney and "the man." Shelly thought she must be referring to Big John and didn't think much more about it until they got home afterwards. Then Hayley again said that she had fun at John's house seeing John, Courtney and "the man." Upon asking more questions Shelly finally discovered that "the man" is kind (I believe was the word) and plays with them. He is in Kailey's room which was John's until recently. Apparently Kailey's room is the only place Hayley sees him. I am a firm believer in the special relationship that children share with the Lord and His realm. I have my own story of seeing "the man" in my room as a child and that memory is as vivid today as it was 20 years ago. I also had the tremendous blessing, as Hayley does, of having parents who believed wholeheartedly with me and encouraged my childlike faith. Is it really that odd that the Lord shows Himself to those tiny hearts who ask no questions but calmly accept the presence of His angels as good and right? And how interesting that "the man" is nothing foreign or unusual but someone who seems very normal in Hayley's little world. The more I have thought about this today, the more of a gift it becomes. This week has been a difficult one for me physically as I struggle through these last weeks of pregnancy with strong pregnancy symptoms like in the first trimester except with a third trimester belly and aches and pains to go with it. I have wrestled with the fact that it is difficult for me to care for my babies while carrying them (and this is certainly not a new struggle after my past pregnancy history). Today was as if God put His hand on my growing belly and reminded me that it is not I who is caring for these babies but Him. And there is "the man" waiting in my nursery the moment that Kailey arrives to care for her there. Coincidence that little Hayley's confirmation came this week? I think not. The nursery is also the room where we have prayed every night since moving in this house a year ago for our children. We pray for John, prayed for Kailey to be conceived, and have prayed for her during this pregnancy. Coincidence that "the man" resides in the room where we have spent more hours praying over our children than any other? I think not. And today, while doing something completely unrelated, I "randomly" came across this verse in Luke 10, "At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. " Friends, I have to love a God who has revealed things to our babies because it was His good pleasure. I have to love that He placed a verbal little girl in my life for whom I have prayed since her conception to tell me what God is doing. I have to just love Him because He is so good.