My daughter, Quinn, is at the exciting age where her baby babbling is becoming coherent speech. She can tell us when she wants something “more” to eat, and when she is “all done.” She lets us know what sounds doggies, cows, and lions make. She can “go,” “jump,” and “dance.” She’s even been known to drop a few, “Hey, Shawn”-s after her mother greets me with the same at the door. But as wise as my little one is, I’d be lying to you if told you she always got everything right.
You see, there is one pattern of speech my daughter has not quite mastered. Quinn hasn’t quite figured out how to ask for things. So, I would like to tell you that Quinn is the queen of “Please” and “May I?” but she is far from it. The truth is Quinn has a unique way of asking. When Quinn really wants something she simply whines, “MOMMY!” (and she usually looks like this doing so!)
The funny thing is, she has the same way of requesting whether my wife is around or far, far away. So whether Carol is in the other room or in another town, when Quinn wants another toy, my cell phone, or to venture to new places, she cries, “MOMMY.” You see, to Quinn, “Mommy” isn’t just a person, it means “Please!” And why not, because to Quinn, Mommy is the one who gives her things. Quinn believes that everything she needs comes from one place-her mom.
Jesus teaches us to ask, to search, and to knock. He reminds us that if we know how to give to our children, how much more does God know how to give to us. Only I wonder, do we sometimes forget where those gifts come from? All that Quinn receives she attributes to her mommy whether mom is around or not, but do we have the same understanding in our God? Or do we deceive ourselves? Do we trick ourselves into believing that we have some how earned all the good things in our life? That we somehow deserve more than any other the job we have, the car we drive, even the very air we breath. Do we forget that everything we have is from God?
There will come a time in Quinn’s life where she realizes that “Mommy” may not be the best way to ask for things. A time when she realizes that her mother is not behind every gift she receives. But even when she learns that lesson, I pray that we may teach her yet another. That we, her parents, do not give her all she needs, but that her Father in heaven does. And then may we watch as her “Mommy…” becomes “my God…” as she heeds Jesus’ words and asks, seeks, and knocks.
And may it be so for you and me as well. Amen.