-By Debbie Christopher…As adults---parents, grandparents, teachers, etc.--we usually look for teachable moments when we get to share a life lesson with our ‘protégés’. Then, there are those opportunities when they provide a “learnable” moment for us. Our middle Grand--Our ‘B Boy’--- did just that a couple of weeks ago.
My husband and I were at our son and daughter-in-law’s house. The guys were out back working on a patio project, our daughter-in-law was not yet back from running an errand, and the two older grands were out. I was relaxing on the couch (It was Sunday, soooo, you know what relaxing on the couch actually means…), and Bennett was watching TV.
Here comes that ‘learnable’ lesson…
While watching his show, our grandson was playing with a squeeze ‘toy’ similar to the one in the picture---that also made noises. Grandma sweetly gave him that one-eyed look that said, “I love you dear, but please stop squeezing your toy.” What he did next woke me up from my snooze more than the toy had because my mind went into writer’s mode!
He didn’t lay the toy down beside him.
He didn’t just hold it quietly in his hands.
He tossed it across the room.
He knew what had to be done so as not to ‘upset’ Grandma. He knew his limitations. Our ten Y/O grandson provided the perfect example for 1 Thessalonians 5:22 and Hebrews 12:1.
When we find ourselves convicted of a particular sin or in a ‘dangerous’ situation that we know will ‘get us in trouble’, we need to get completely away from the situation (1 Thessalonians 5:22) or toss it completely away (Hebrews 12:1)…just as Bennett tossed that toy across the room rather than attempt to ‘just hold it quietly in his hands’.
When God ‘gives’ us that one-eyed look that says, “I love you child, but this has to go!”, toss it across the room…get it completely away from you…get completely away from it…annihilate it completely (Colossians 3:5). Don’t hold it close thinking we will be able to hold it quietly in our hands.
Thank you, Bennett—love you!
~Grandma Debbie
“Stay away from every kind of evil.”
1 Thessalonians 5:22 HCSB
“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,”
Hebrews 12:1 HCSB
Awesome, Bennett!! 🤩