The Boy Down The Street....

He has a biblical name, but that's about his only biblical connection. His grandparents actually live 2 houses down and he stays with them on the weekends and some weekdays when his mom works. He is quirky, has a speech impediment, yells when he talks, has to have his own way, very bossy, demanding, goes back and forth picking favorites, knows absolutely EVERYTHING, is ALWAYS right, but the boys could sum him up in one word: FRIEND.

They LOVE this little boy! He causes much drama and practically LIVES at our house and rarely even sees his grandparents. I've fed him numerous lunches, a tooth rotting number of popsicles and I've never gotten a "thank-you". Chris has wrestled with him, thrown the ball with him, and oohed and aahed over his tricks and attention getting abilities. His grandparents rarely if ever speak to us and rarely if ever check on him during the day to see if he's still alive.

He drives us NUTS!!

Why is it that ministering opportunites don't occur to you when you're annoyed? You assume that you'd actually "care" for the person you're ministering to, right? It didn't occur to me until I witnessed one of the lunches all 3 boys were sharing together. They LOVE to eat outside on this precious child's picnic table that has been in Chris' family for years.

I brought out their "gourmet" peanut butter and jelly sandwhich meals and turned to leave. I stopped at the garage door to listen when the child began to eat and Jack and Thatcher both yelled "NO! We have to say the blessing first!" The boy was a little stunned since he's usually the one shouting directions, but he was clearly out of his element. Then Thatcher said "You bow your head like this....close your eyes like this...." Then Jack said "and you need to take your hat off too when you pray...." so....he did.

Then I wiped my eyes after hearing them utter their prayer together then begin to eat, laugh, and carry on as if nothing unusual had taken place. I was SO proud of the two of them, but was SO ashamed of myself. I had rolled my eyes with every ring of the doorbell (which was always several in a row) with every spreading of the peanutbutter and cutting of the crusts. I had been "put out" and was disgusted that his grandparents NEVER said "thank-you"!

I had missed out on the blessing of following Jesus' advice "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in..... "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' " (Mat. 25:35,40) Yes, I did those things, but not with my heart in the right place....

It's when your children do what's right when nobody's watchin' that makes you beam! They could have skipped the prayer altogether and I would have never known....but then neither would this little boy.....Now when they say the prayer outside, this child automatically removes his hat if he's wearing one....he bows his head, closes his eyes, and another seed is planted.....

We know he's starving for attention. He has EVERY toy ever made, so his love is bought, not freely given....His parents are divorced and he's an only child....but...HE DRIVES US NUTS!!!Chris and I always say "WHY do they always pick the most annoying children to be friends with?...." It's because there's no let down when it comes to serving others. The spiritual questions from the children always come when I'm exhausted, at bedtime, or not "feeling it"!! The times to extend kindness and love are when I've been waiting in the line at Wal-Mart for 30 minutes watching my milk spoil, when a Siding Salesman comes to my door at 5 PM as Margaret is fussing and the boys are fighting, and when a little obnoxious boy down the street rings the doorbell several times and wants a sandwhich......