Be kind to those special guests

Any parent knows that kids have their own language. For example, when Ellen, our preschooler says “Why don’t you go to work? I want you to go now.”

What she means is, “I heard you tell me to put on socks and change clothes so that my shirt and pants actually match, but I don’t want to do those things so if you leave you won’t be bale to make me.”

Or when she says, “Can you go back downstairs? Why don’t you go back downstairs now, Daddy?”

She sure doesn’t mean, “I’m tired and you can trust me to crawl into bed and try to get to sleep, go unwind and spend some time alone or with Mom.” No, I’ve come to understand that what she REALLY means is, “I feel like staying up, wandering around, trying to get my big sister to play with me or rummaging through the drawer in your nightstand until I accidentally break something or wake up my baby sister and drive you all crazy.

And when she says “get out of the bathroom, close the door, I want to be alone” during bath time, you might think that that’s exactly what she wants, she is a girl, after all, but don’t be fooled. She’s not 10 or 12, she’s not even 7 or 8, she’s 4. She’s not being modest or guarding her privacy. Oh no, all “I want to be alone” means is “I feel like playing swimming-pool in the sink with my Barbies, maybe I’ll try putting on some of Mom’s makeup or add enough water that the tub starts to overflow, use an entire bottle of shampoo and see what other messes I can make.”

We really love Ellen, mischief and all. She has a love of life and a vitality that has really brought a lot of joy to our lives, not just anxiety. I’m pretty sure her older sister Grace loves her too.

The other night I was reading Grace a bedtime story. “The Christmas Guest” by Rich Melheim. I know it’s March, but what can I say, she chose it, I read it.

It’s a variation on an old story. I swear that it’s been both an email forward and probably an illustration in a lot of pastor’s sermons. It basically takes Matthew 25:40 “…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me,” and makes you realize that God visits us all day long, sending us opportunity after opportunity to show kindness.

In Melheim’s version a Fern Fieldmouse finds a note promising that a special Christmas guest is on their way to have a grand celebration wither, so she should prepare. Fern freaks out. She shrilly turns away neighbors, friends, Christmas carolers, and even her local pastor because she is so worried about cleaning and decorating her house for the special guest.

The teacher in me wanted to make sure that Grace got the lesson.

“So who do you think the special guest was, Grace?”

“Jesus”

“Now, how did Fern she treat the carolers?”

“She was mean to them.”

“So what was that was that like?”

“Like she was being mean to Jesus.” Bingo, lesson learned. Let’s drive it home.

And how did she treat her family? Friends? People collecting for charity? I asked.

“And even Parson Possum, her own pastor!”

“That’s right. And how about the poor little homeless orphan beggar mouseling?”

“She was mean to him too. So that’s like being mean to Jesus.”

“And how does Jesus want us to treat people?”

“Kind and nice and be nice to them and be good to them and like you want to be treated back.”

“That’s awesome, honey, you are so smart. You know that means everyone we meet, even people we don’t know and people are different than us and people who aren’t nice to us, doesn’t it?”

“Uh huh, ‘cause it’s like being kind to Jesus and loving Jesus. We should be kind to everybody.” Yeah, what a wonderful, perfect, smart, moral child. Damn, I’m a good parent aren’t I? I mentally patted myself on the back for raising such a virtuous child, then the other shoe dropped.

“Only not my sistah Elwen, because she SO ANOYING all the time! All day long! Fo REAL!”