Rocks of All Ages

It's Friday night, and we're headed to our much anticipated Friday night dinner.  Time to unwind from the week.  In the car, my husband comments that he didn't get much sleep last night.  "I did.  I slept like a rock.  I was so tired."  Tyler pipes up, "Me too."  My husband laments, "Yeah, spring is coming, and I don't know what I'm going to do with you two snoring machines."  I spout off suggestions - Breathe Right strips, antihistamines, nose surgery?  "Yeah, maybe I need surgery too" chirps the backseat.  He takes a long sniff.  I hand back a Kleenex.  "But, dad, I can sleep with mom.  Her snoring doesn't bother me."  Sniff again.   "Yeah, because you two sleep like a couple of rocks." 

Sniff.  The backseat is quiet for a few moments... thinking.  "Yeah, except rocks don't snore."    

The boy has a point. 

Seating in the booth at our favorite Mexican establishment, we discuss names for Tyler's soon to be born baby brother.   

Tyler, as always, is an active participant in the conversation.  We are thinking Trey or Luke for first names.  For the middle name we want a family name and something with meaning.  My husband asks Tyler, "Do you know who your middle name is after?"  He shakes his head.   

"In the Bible, there was a young fourteen year old boy whose name was David from the country Israel.  He was thin and scrawny, but very clever.  One day there was a large man more than 8 feet tall who kept taunting the Israelites.  Do you know what taunting means?" 

Tyler shakes his head.  He is kneeling in the booth, half sitting, half standing, elbows on the table.       

"He was making fun of the Israelites because they were so scared.  He was like a bully.  This giant's name was Goliath.  He had a very large sword and a whole army behind him.   No one from Israel wanted to fight him.  Except David.  David took out his slingshot, found some rocks and faced the giant.  Goliath laughed at how small David was.  David was not scared.  He swung his slingshot with his first rock and hit Goliath right in the forehead.  The giant fell down dead.  And this teenage kid used the big man's own sword to cut off his head.  Do you know why David was so special?" 

Tyler shakes his head.

"He was the great, great, great, great grandfather of Jesus." 

His eyes light up like bulbs in a pinball machine.  

"If David had not been so brave, Jesus might not have been born!  Isn't that amazing?" 

He nods his head.  We can tell the story has definitely had an impact on him. 

"We should definitely not name the new baby Goliath!" 

Yep, the boy has a point. 

Whether it's the sleeping habits of rocks or the rocks in his predecessors' weapon, this little boy certainly knows how to slingshot through to the truth.  

He's funny, yes, but also insightful.  I hope and pray he finds his own rocks to use in life...the stones of truth that you collect along the path of life, and the Rock of our Salvation.  I hope he continues to live up to his name and create his own legacy that generations of his children's children will speak highly of.