Sweet Tarts

by Gracie Malone

Pretty much all the honest truth-telling there is in the world is done by children. ~Oliver Wendell Homes Jr.

A few weeks before Christmas, my four-year-old-grandson, Montana, and I were flipping through some albums that contained pictures of his cousins—the children in our son Matt’s family. Even though he hadn’t seen his cousins in a long time, he identified all four—Luke, Connor, Mary, and Abby. After naming the children and commenting on their dressy clothes, he pointed to the main character. “And there’s Uncle Matt!”

Next, Montana pointed at the rather dignified gentleman in the center of the picture. He turned his face toward mine and, with a cute little wrinkle in his forehead, asked, “Grandma Gracie, who is that guy?”

“Oh, that man is the minister. We were at church,” I explained to him.

Montana seemed confused. “The mister?”

“No, honey, the minister—you know, the preacher.”

“Oh!” The little guy seemed to understand as he turned the page.

Then he began naming the two people in the next shot. “There’s Uncle Matt, and there’s the creature.”

Later, I found myself chuckling about what Montana had said.

Shortly afterward, I had an interesting conversation with Montana’s little brother, Myles. It seems Myles had developed a great relationship with the leadership at his church back home. I’d already heard that he never wanted to miss a single meeting at Fellowship of the Woodlands. I can’t say I blame him when I think about the kid-friendly events that take place on that campus. Why, the excitement begins as soon as his parents pull into the enormous parking lot and then ride to the front door of the auditorium aboard a train made of brightly colored barrels. After they make their way inside and find a seat, serious business takes place.

Myles’s fervor for toddler-style worship became evident one evening when our son Mike and daughter-in-law Jeanna were feeling a bit ambivalent about going to church. After lounging around the house most of Saturday afternoon, they couldn’t get motivated to get dressed and go. Myles would hear nothing of it. He overheard their should-we-should-we-not conversation and decided for them.

“Well,” he declared, “I’m going! You guys better get ready.” He ran to his room and started changing clothes. What could Mike and Jeanna do but pull on some clean clothes and run to the car? When Jeanna told me this story later, my chest swelled with pride until I feared the buttons might pop off my blouse. My “strong-willed” little grandson had made a “strong” decision in the right direction and proved a truth that Jesus taught his disciples centuries ago. There are many times in our lives when “a little child shall lead them.”

“I thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.” Luke 10:21 MSG

For more devotions by Carol Kent and Gracie Malone, check out their book, Moments of Grace for Grandmas, HERE.