Living water

Yesterday was "family Sunday" at Church. This is a new protocol whereby once per month the nursery closes and all parents are expected to bring children into the sanctuary for the service. I'm less than enthusiastic about this standard- sometimes it's all I can do to endure a service; I don't know how I can expect my 4 and 5 year olds to do it. Inevitably, my participation in the service deteriorates to the point that I'm primarily "managing" my children. My kids are noisey, and they disturb everything. We'd might as well not be there at all, right?

But yesterday went differently. We were sitting in the farthest aisle in the back in order to make a quick exit, if necessary. Ian was drawing quietly. He always draws robots. I mean literally EVERY time he draws, you can bet he'll draw a robot. As far as I could tell he had no idea what was being said in the sermon. This was fine with me- as long as he was quiet and not causing any commotion.

Suddenly, his head perked up. "Dad," he bellowed, (I'm beginning to wonder if whispering is physiologically impossible for his voice box) "Do we like Living Water?"

"Yes, we do. Remember to talk quietly, okay?"

Again, he practically shouted: "Is it like orange juice?"

I was trying to be patient, but certainly blushing and feeling embarrassed. "No...try to use a quiet voice in here..."

He looked puzzled, "Well, is it for kids?"

"Yes," I replied, "it is for kids."

He smiled from ear to ear.

I sat hunkered down in my seat, bracing myself for another back-row auditory blast. Apparently satisfied, he went back to creating robots with intense concentration. I went back to feeling irritated about having nowhere to take my kids during church. The moment was lost on me at the time.

But last night, during bath-time, I replayed our conversation. "Yes, it IS for kids." And, once again, I felt like God was using my kids to communicate something to me: IT IS FOR KIDS. And so last night's bath water became "living water," and there was a discussion about Jesus being poured out for us. I don't know how well I was able to teach them...but I'll feel blessed if they learned half as much as I did.