B-VOW II

So, I think I skipped a week or three, but here's a second installment. A bible verse about wisdom that I just came across in the book of James.

"Wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full or mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." James, Chapter 3, Verse 17.

That's a lot to live up to. This verse brought to mind a situation yesterday when Rowen was playing with an older little boy in our neighborhood. Rowen so desperately wants to play and be friends with this kid, but he's older (at 5) and "more experienced"...so Mama's just trying to be cool and not hover too much. Truly, I'm just wishing for James and Peter.

Anyway, this older child came over to play soccer with Rowen. Rowen has "played soccer" with Rob lots of times but is yet to really grasp the concept. Clearly, the 5 year old knew how to play and man-handled Rowen on the field out back. Instead of pouting/whining/throwing a tantrum (like I was sure he would), Rowen optimistically declared he would like to ride his bike. So, the older child brought his bike down. A BMX type. Without a trace of training wheels. Wearing no helmet. And here comes Rowen with his precious little bike, with his training wheels in place (albeit in the highest position) and with his trusty helmet fastened. He very thoughtfully informed his playmate that he would need his helmet as well, to which the big kid basically laughed, indicating that he didn't have to wear a helmet. Rowen didn't persist and said he was ready to roll. The big kid joked that you can't go fast with training wheels but Rowen was sure his speed would speak for itself when he started the race. And they were off. The big kid basically lapped him around the block but Rowen kept at it, not getting frustrated or quitting. He did stop just before the finish line to "break a breath" and I congratulated him on his awesome speed. He was pretty pleased with himself although it was clear the big kid thought he was kind of pitiful. I should note "the big kid" is super cute and fun, but the point remains the same :)

Now, I'm not asserting that Rowen is this sweet all of the time. In fact, he's been a real stinker lately. But this was just such an example to me of how innocent and pure children can be. We think we want all of this worldly wisdom, the BMX bike without training wheels. We think we want to ride without a helmet and that we want to steamroll everyone on the playing field. But what we really need is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy wisdom.