Drawing With Chalk

Two of my granddaughters are here for the next four days.
One is almost five-years-old and the other is almost two-years-old.
It is delightful to have them here.
It is wonderful to see the world from their eyes.

I have said those words before but now they have a different meaning for me.

My oldest daughter came over to see them and brought the girls outside for a bit.
It was helpful to me because it enabled me to make dinner.
I was in the kitchen cooking and getting ready to feed all of us.
I gathered things that needed to go into recycling.

I opened the door to the garage.
The girls were on the driveway with colored chalk in their hands.
Grandma, come see this beautiful picture, my oldest daughter said with a smile.
My granddaughter was beaming with pride.

I didn’t know where to look; the driveway looked like the book, Harold and the Purple Crayon.
Harold is a four year old boy who draws himself into adventures with his purple crayon.
I could see printing that I knew was done by my oldest daughter.
She had labeled all the key places at her niece’s suggestion.

Start there, Grandma, my daughter said.
I walked over to a drawing of a unicorn, named Sparkle.
That’s your house Grandma, I was told by my granddaughter.
I was to follow the line to the next location, the home of the little ladies in front of me.

I followed the line to the home of their four cousins, who live fifteen minutes away.
The final location was their aunt’s home, the one who tirelessly encouraged the little artist.
I showed my true excitement over the drawing.
She was so pleased.

I looked at my daughter for some clues as to the impetus of such a detailed map.
My granddaughter simply said, This is my world.
I felt a lump in my throat.
Her little almost five-year-old heart was there for all to see.

She has more aunts and uncles.
She has another set of grandparents.
This snapshot in time captured those people who were close in proximity to her.
With her colored chalk, like Harold, she drew her world as she could grasp it.

My heart was full as I thought about it after the girls went to bed.
All she had was chalk and the driveway as her canvas.
Her world was drawn for us to see.
Nothing elaborate, just chalk lines and words written by her aunt.

Museum quality in this Grandma’s opinion.

Once in our world, a Stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world. (C.S.Lewis)

I thought of the quote from C.S.Lewis’ The Last Battle.
I thought of the smallness of the stable that held the infant Jesus.
How could anything hold God?
Yet, the Incarnate One became like us, fully God and fully man.

Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2: 6-11)

My granddaughter’s world was drawn in two dimensions on the driveway.
God the Father, broke through our dimensions of time and space with the birth of His Son.
Something larger than the world was held in a Stable.
That was done for you and for me.

I wanted to take a picture of my granddaughter’s world to show her mommy and daddy.
Soon after she went to bed, it rained.
The picture was washed away.
The memory lingers on.