Isn’t it often the seemingly small things that our children do that cause tears to come to our eyes and our hearts to melt?
At one Wednesday night church service, the music director had a “favorites” time during which those in the congregation could ask for their favorite hymn to be sung. My personal choices would be All the Way My Saviour Leads Me and Day by Day, though I’m usually not inclined to lift my hand and request one of them.
As a mom, it’s always interesting when your child raises her hand during times like this since you never know what she’s going to say (could she be desiring some obscure tune that no one knows – or worse yet, Jingle Bells???)
I wasn’t too surprised when my six-year-old raised her hand and requested Fanny Crosby’s Praise Him, Praise Him. Ever since learning about the famous songwriter during Vacation Bible School last summer, she has been fascinated with flipping through the hymn book and finding all the hymns Fanny Crosby wrote.
I was, however, a bit surprised when, several selections later, my eight-year-old, who was sitting next to me, raised her hand. She never desires to have attention drawn to herself. Yet here she was, saying the number of a song loudly and clearly. I truly expected it to be Victory in Jesus, one of her own favorite hymns. But it wasn’t……….it was Day by Day. She looked up at me, smiled, and said, “Mommy, I chose that one for you.”
Even now her thoughtfulness causes me to cry. It may have seemed like such a small thing, yet how huge it was for her. She stepped way outside her comfort zone in order to please me.
The next morning, as I was praying, an even bigger thought hit me. Is that how God feels when I step outside of my comfort zone to do something that I know will please Him?
Wow – this parenting stuff can be really powerful!!
