Rock's Tender Heart...
Well folks, I know my blogging has been sporadic to say the least. I've been moving and cleaning, rejoicing and complaining, and during any free time I may receive during the day...I'm spent.
Phil's touring schedule is picking up for the summer, so Rock and I have once again been spending loads of quality time together (or something like that :). Yes, I have my "pull my hair out" days, but honestly, Rock has such a sweet spirit and tender heart...even on the days when he's pushing the exact buttons I don't want him to push, I have to remind myself who he is; he's a gift with the name Rock Davidson Shay.
Before I share the story I'm about to share, I want to state I'm not quite sure how I feel about the theology of it all. At this point I've mulled it over and honestly believe God is pleased, but I know some people out there may have a different view on it. With that said, our family goes to an Episcopal church and we take communion every Sunday. People get dismissed by row and wait for the kneelers up front to clear so they can take their turn. The priest generally gives each person a wafer and the priest's helpers (I don't know technical terms, nor do I feel like looking it up right now :) serve people a sip of wine or the option to dip the wafer in the wine. At our church the kids come up to communion with their parents and the priest gives each child a blessing. I love it.
Rock has been watching this process for the last year and a half now. He definitely knows what's going on and has tried his hardest to get the priest to give him a wafer for quite a while now. The past couple Sundays, as Rock patiently holds his little hands in a bowl shape so the priest knows he's waiting for his turn, our priest has asked me if it's ok for Rock to take communion. I was taken a back the first time he asked, not knowing if their was a "right" answer, but in the moment I agreed. Rock proudly took his wafer and dipped it so gently into the cup of wine. Again, I loved it.
Rock has actively been taking communion for the past three weeks now...then last Sunday things didn't go as planned. This time around, the person giving out the wafer's wasn't our priest and in the moment I didn't think asking the person to give Rock communion was appropriate. I took my communion and tried to swiftly grab Rock man to walk back to our seats without him realizing he didn't get a wafer (yeah right). As I went to pick Rock up, to my surprise, he was still holding on to the top of the kneeler and wasn't about to let go. I awkwardly pried his little fingers off the piece of shiny wood and he screamed all the way back to our pew. I grabbed our stuff as quickly as I could and exited the building with my wailing child in hand. He was so sad and I was too. I was a little sad I didn't ask for Rock to have communion with me, and then I was sad I didn't just give Rock my communion.
We sat together and I told him I understood why he was sad and that I was sorry he didn't get communion that day. I told him I was sure it was probably confusing that he didn't get to participate. And although I know Rock doesn't understand what communion is and why we do it, deep down I know he understands it means something important. I truly love seeing Rock grow up everyday and my hope for him to really know Jesus runs as deep as anything.
I hope he always desires communion and I hope he fights for Jesus' in his life.
Phil's touring schedule is picking up for the summer, so Rock and I have once again been spending loads of quality time together (or something like that :). Yes, I have my "pull my hair out" days, but honestly, Rock has such a sweet spirit and tender heart...even on the days when he's pushing the exact buttons I don't want him to push, I have to remind myself who he is; he's a gift with the name Rock Davidson Shay.
Before I share the story I'm about to share, I want to state I'm not quite sure how I feel about the theology of it all. At this point I've mulled it over and honestly believe God is pleased, but I know some people out there may have a different view on it. With that said, our family goes to an Episcopal church and we take communion every Sunday. People get dismissed by row and wait for the kneelers up front to clear so they can take their turn. The priest generally gives each person a wafer and the priest's helpers (I don't know technical terms, nor do I feel like looking it up right now :) serve people a sip of wine or the option to dip the wafer in the wine. At our church the kids come up to communion with their parents and the priest gives each child a blessing. I love it.
Rock has been watching this process for the last year and a half now. He definitely knows what's going on and has tried his hardest to get the priest to give him a wafer for quite a while now. The past couple Sundays, as Rock patiently holds his little hands in a bowl shape so the priest knows he's waiting for his turn, our priest has asked me if it's ok for Rock to take communion. I was taken a back the first time he asked, not knowing if their was a "right" answer, but in the moment I agreed. Rock proudly took his wafer and dipped it so gently into the cup of wine. Again, I loved it.
Rock has actively been taking communion for the past three weeks now...then last Sunday things didn't go as planned. This time around, the person giving out the wafer's wasn't our priest and in the moment I didn't think asking the person to give Rock communion was appropriate. I took my communion and tried to swiftly grab Rock man to walk back to our seats without him realizing he didn't get a wafer (yeah right). As I went to pick Rock up, to my surprise, he was still holding on to the top of the kneeler and wasn't about to let go. I awkwardly pried his little fingers off the piece of shiny wood and he screamed all the way back to our pew. I grabbed our stuff as quickly as I could and exited the building with my wailing child in hand. He was so sad and I was too. I was a little sad I didn't ask for Rock to have communion with me, and then I was sad I didn't just give Rock my communion.
We sat together and I told him I understood why he was sad and that I was sorry he didn't get communion that day. I told him I was sure it was probably confusing that he didn't get to participate. And although I know Rock doesn't understand what communion is and why we do it, deep down I know he understands it means something important. I truly love seeing Rock grow up everyday and my hope for him to really know Jesus runs as deep as anything.
I hope he always desires communion and I hope he fights for Jesus' in his life.
Thanks for sharing, Sonnie. I hope that if I have kids, that they will always desire communion, too.
ReplyDeleteAww, Sonnie...what a wonderful Mom you are...how difficult these things can be when our little ones don't understand. Many of us have had to drag our children out of somewhere...but the fact that you talked and explained it to him speaks tons about you!
ReplyDelete