Apr
6
2018

The Beckoning

Posted in Evangelism | Leave a comment

Our daughter’s baby shower will be here at our home in a few days.
Preparations are underway.
The menu is planned and confirmed with the caterers.
Last minute details are being handled.

Of course, some preparations are not only for the shower itself.
Sometimes a little pampering is in order.
I decided that I would take the mother-to-be and one of her sisters, to get pedicures.
We tend to do this together before special occasions.

We arrived at the salon and chose our nail polish color.
Then for the next forty five minutes, we were pampered.
It is always so relaxing.
It is always so nice to sit in the chairs and talk together.

We wanted to go to dinner after our pedicure.
A new organic market opened close by, which has a wonderful cafe.
I had been there for lunch with my youngest daughter.
My other two daughters had not been there yet.

We walked past all the delicious food: fresh vegetables, salad, soup, salmon, and chicken.
The problem was deciding what we wanted to eat from all the healthy, organic choices.
We each chose what we wanted for dinner and went to the register so I could pay.
Our dishes were weighed and the total tallied.

We sat down, thrilled to have this time together.
We talked about everything, just like mothers and daughters do.
It is still a bit cold here; spring is late in arriving though the calendar says otherwise.
Our feet were cold since each of us was wearing sandals because of freshly painted toes.

There was a wonderful play area for children close to where we were sitting.
Since it was later in the evening, the play area was empty.
Halfway through our meal, a little girl and her brother came to play.
Their parents sat nearby while they played.

All the toys were the tried and true, old fashioned toys my children loved.
No bells and whistles; just a simple wood kitchen and lots of wood blocks and wooden cars.
There was a wood climbing area with a small platform.
The children were really enjoying themselves.

Soon, another little girl entered the play area.
She was quiet and timid.
She just stood on the edge of the play area and watched the other children play.
The children were all different colors.

I watched their play unfold.
The older girl was up on the platform.
She saw the quiet little girl standing and waiting on the edge of the play area.
She beckoned the little girl to come up on the platform with her.

Her brother was zooming a wooden car on the carpet.
She beckoned the little girl again but this time spoke to her as well.
The quiet little girl seemed unsure.
There was no prompting from the parents, who were sitting but not talking to each other.

Come up here and play with me, the older girl said to the quiet, little girl.
Perhaps she watched long enough to be sure.
Perhaps she did not want to miss all the fun.
Perhaps the persistence of the older girl was the encouragement the quiet little girl needed.

The quiet little girl stepped from the floor to the carpet and entered the play area.
She skipped over to the climbing area and climbed up on the platform.
Not to miss out on the fun, the younger brother joined them as well.
A fourth child, who came a bit later, joined them after he, too, was beckoned.

As the children began to play, the parents began to talk to each other.
They all looked so different but yet were so very much the same.
Something simple like an old-fashioned play area brought everyone together.
It was the older girl’s beckoning that set this in motion.

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. (Isaiah 11:6)

The adults were separate and in their own little world as the children played.
The adults were on their phones, scrolling through whatever seemed important.
The adults were not talking to each other or their children.
However, one girl persistently beckoned.

Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;  a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’  I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:5-10)

Persistence may seem annoying to some.
However, persistence pays off.
In the case of the friend who needed bread, persistence paid off.
The door was unlocked and the bread was given.

As I watched the older girl on the platform, I saw persistence in action.
The older girl never gave up.
She beckoned and encouraged.
Children on the sidelines were included.

A little child will lead them.
What a lesson we could learn from her.
It was not right that someone was standing on the edge.
It mattered that they be included and come in.

I thought of how many conflicts could be resolved by following the girl’s example.
Come up here and play with me.
Come up here and play.
Come.

Sometimes that is all it takes.
Come up here.
Let’s do this together.
Let’s stand side by side.

It is so much better that way.
Can you imagine how different the world would be if we simply beckoned?
Come to church with me.
Come over for dinner with our family.

Beckon.
Encourage.
Be persistent in your invitation.
Come.

 

Whispers of His Movement and Whispers in Verse books are now available in paperback and e-book!

http://www.whispersofhismovement.com/book/

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