Did You See That?

There we were, we two, on a beautiful fall day, I was laying down on the grass in the front of my house, staring up at the sky.  My young son (six at the time) lay beside me and we both took a break from the work we had been doing and the games we had been playing.  The sky, it seemed, was a perfect blue, without a blemish, not a wisp of a cloud or streak of a jet plane.  The afternoon sun still shone brightly from the southwestern sky not yet ready to give up it’s place on this picture perfect day.
 
       And as we lay there gazing up, it seemed as though the tree branches above stretched and reached themselves out toward the heavens.  The appearance was there that distance between the sky and the earth was growing smaller the longer we lay there and took it in. 
 
       On this particular tree, the leaves had already changed colour and some had separated from their summer station, early victims of the autumn metamorphosis.  Yet there were enough leaves left to catch the wind from where it blew and be moved to where it would go. Then the leaves would lift with a bristle and the wind would continue on it’s way.
 
       “Did you see that” said the little voice beside me.
       “See what”, I replied.  Curious as a father can be at what the mind of his child discovers.
       “The wind”
       “You saw the wind.  How do know what the wind looks like?”  Truth be told I haven’t been very good at taking advantage of teachable moments, but somehow I knew this was an opportunity given from the God of Opportunity.
 
       “Because I saw the branches move and I heard the leaves.”
       “So you didn’t really see the wind.” I tested him cautiously.
       He paused for a moment and then took up the challenge. “No I guess I not, but I did see what the wind did with those branches and leaves, so I know that the wind is there.”
       “Wow, that’s a pretty amazing thing then.  To not be able to see the wind or not even know what it looks like, but still be able to know that it is the wind.”  I paused again for a moment, “are you sure?”
 
       This time his ability to restrain was no longer available to him. “Dad, are you just being crazy, did you leave your brains in your bed again, it is the wind, just look.”
 
       Now I could sense the opportunity was here for the taking, and praying a little prayer to my Great Big God, I went ahead.
       “Do you remember the other night, you asked me about God?”
       
       And I know in my own mind, and I think also in his there was a flashback to our conversation about God.  A conversation that we’ve had many times before, and I’m thankful for a child with a heart that seeks answers to tough questions.  Where does God live? Can He see me? Does God sleep?  When does He eat? How come I can’t see God?
 
       “You asked me how come I can’t see God?  Now this is what I want you to remember.” A deep breath and the peace of God and here it goes.
 
 Are there things that you enjoy doing?”
       
       “Like riding my bike, colouring, and playing.”
 
       “Yes, just like that.  The time you have to do that is where God is.”
 
       “Do you like it when people do nice things for you?
 
“Like friends who visit and presents on my birthday, or going to grandma’s for Thanksgiving.”
 
       “Yes, just like that.  That is God showing you His love. Whenever someone shows you kindness, spends time with you, even gives you gifts, then you’ll know that God is there.
 
       “Do you remember when you asked Jesus to be your Saviour.”
 
       “Yes, I was 4.”
 
       “Well, God says, that as a Christian, you are to show love to others too.  So that they might be able to feel loved.”
 
“And that’s how they see God.”  And in those words there is no way, on earth, to measure the accomplishment of a child grasping the truth of the Cross of Christ, and combined with a father’s overflowing heart of gratitude.
 
“God wants us to give good gifts, like our time, our kindness, and even our money, to help others so they might ask Jesus to be their Saviour too.”
       “Who?”
 
       “Everyone else, no matter what they look like, no matter how they treat us.”
 
       “Dad”, came the little voice and I felt my heart racing in anticipation of what was coming next.  “Can I pile these leaves up on you and jump.”
 
       And there it was, it was over, but not before truth had been passed on and I pray absorbed into the shaping of a young man who will desire to serve God and serve his neighbour, allowing the love of Jesus Christ to pour out of his life and be visible to others, just like the movement of colourful leaves caught in the winds of fall.