I’m Strong to the Finish (‘Cuz I Eats Me Spinach)
My Lovely Wife and Life Partner Lois and I were awakened recently at 2:45 am by our 5 year old grandson Owen. “I had a bad dream”, he sobbed. We comforted him and took him to the kitchen for his favorite snack, string cheese and milk.
After he settled down a little, (string cheese and milk are famous for their calming effects) he explained that the problem in the dream was a pesky vampire. He described the scary creature as very small, in fact only a few inches high, but none the less terrifying. He continued that he only woke up unscathed because Pops, (yours truly) saved him. While I’m genuinely moved my grandson would think of me that way, in addition I certainly relish the notion of another entry on my resume. So I’ve got that going for me.
In all seriousness, I am overwhelmed with joy and a frankly a little nervous of the responsibility that this little boy holds me in such regard. I pray daily for his protection and my wisdom that I would, God forbid, ever disappoint him.
As it turns out, the source of his fear likely stemmed from games that included frightening creatures like zombies, and in this case, vampires. He has a real for and is definitely drawn to these kinds of characters. Of course we, along with my son and daughter in law are careful to limit his screen time. If you are a twenty-first century parent, you know the challenges of daily media maintenance.
After I got ready for work, Lois found an unlikely hero to divert our boy from the fear he was struggling with. An old sailor man named Popeye. (Enter theme music here)
This was especially touching for me, as Popeye was my favorite as a boy that age. This cartoon goes back to the late twenties! And while, I go back several decades, I’ve not been around quite that long! All to say Popeye has a proven track record, that only is fun for kids, but can also teach some simple life lessons, like good conquers evil, (the dastardly Bluto) faithfulness, (“I’ll saves ya, Olive Oyl!”) and of course the merits of regular intake of good vegetable roughage. (Spinach!)
Lois and I have been taking Owen to church regularly since he was two, and try to be ready at all times to answer inevitable questions regarding God and His place in the life of a preschooler. This time he earnestly wanted to know why he had a bad dream when we specifically prayed about that very thing last night at bedtime.
Tough one. Tough not only for a 5 year old, but for any of us. When we pray for something and it doesn’t happen, how do we explain that? For Owen, we explained that while we don’t always get what we pray for, we can trust that God is loving and wise and will always take care of us. He may have allowed a bad dream this time as a lesson to stay away from those kinds of scary characters in games and movies and TV.
What about you? What is God showing you through disappointments, or through unanswered prayer? Could it be he’s re-directing your steps? The best way to know is through consistent time spent with Him through reading the Bible and prayer.
And in the meantime, maybe a little Popeye wouldn’t hurt. (Enter theme music)