Use Your Words

Last night, David took MM to her soccer game and I was at home with Jack. It got to be supper time, and he began to make noises signifying his increasing hunger. I cooked him a couple of hot dogs and he waiting impatiently for them to cook and cool. Finally, when I told him it was supper time, he ran over to his high chair, eager to begin.

I cut up the hot dog into quarters and gave him a few bits at a time, and then I would go off in the kitchen and do some other things. I would invariably hear Jack make his loud, demanding sound that signifies that he wants something, so I would go back to the table and talk to him. "What do you want?" I would ask kindly. "Do you want more hot dog?....Then use your words; say, 'More, please.' He would look at me for a moment and then he would say, "Pweese." (In a voice so sweet to make any mamma's heart melt.)

We did this routine several times, and I began to grow slightly weary of it, wondering how long it would take to train him to use his words when he wanted more rather than just yelling for it. But then everytime he said that one word, "Pweese," he would look so proud and I would feel such great joy.

I wonder about how, in our lives, God encourages us to "use our words." What times in my life are the spiritual equivalent of sitting in my high chair and yelling because I need something? Is God the one there encouraging me to examine what it is exactly that I am yelling for and urging me to use my words to ask for it rather than seeking it in inappropriate ways? Does it warm God's heart to hear me offer my equivalent of "Pweese" to God, and does God rejoice in each person's one small step toward living in God's kingdom?