Asparagus With Icing
We made a June trip to South Carolina to celebrate a grandson’s fifth birthday. We love visiting there; and our grandson, Gus, is a smart, funny and entertaining little boy! Of course, all of our grandchildren are special; but because I don’t get to see Gus as often, I really try to soak in all he shares with me while I am there visiting.
We left early on a Monday morning, and Gus was headed off to his first day of Vacation Bible School. My son called later in the day to share with us the replay of what he did and heard that morning. First of all, his renditions of the Bible stories were a bit tangled, which made his story so funny. You could hear the individual story as it took on a new life, as he mixed it with the other things he had heard that day.
His explanation of snack time was also quite interesting! Gus isn’t a big eater; but like most his age, he has his favorites – one of which is icing on anything. He has an amazing way of getting to that icing without touching anything else; it is a true talent. He also can have any conversation with an adult, so I am thinking that is where his vegetable ideas come from for this snack.
He told his Mom he thought the snack was “asparagus with icing!” We, of course, found this hilarious. I’m still not clear what was served that day, but that is what he decided he had for that snack. I told you he was entertaining! I do enjoy his versions of anything but it did make me also stop to think how all of us hear what we want to, especially when it comes to listening to God.
“Thy will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes” (Matthew 13:15).
How do people who have heard Jesus’ message and not embraced it believe they are one with him? But we do that sometimes. We allow our hearts to be made of stone, our warm, pulsing, loving hearts can become hard and cold when we are closed off from Jesus.
With our hardened hearts , the truth can look like a threat, so we close our eyes and ears to it to avoid the challenge. We don’t want to hear what the church teachings are because we may have to change our ways of life, our habits, our likes and our schedules. We don’t always listen to the readings and the homily at Mass because we have too much on our minds – when we should be listening with our hearts.
When we learn to listen with our hearts, we will hear God’s voice of loving encouragement helping us to lead better lives. Our lives can be a conversation with God, a journey of listening and responding, of show and tell.
We humans tend to be somewhat lax when it comes to praying and listening when we are at Mass. We don’t always pay close-enough attention. We are easily distracted.
I used to be that way. But by listening to God with my heart, I finally came to understand that I am one with God when I allow myself to find him in the most unlikely places. When we listen to the messages God lets us hear in our hearts we will become better people, better family, friends and even strangers to one another.
By treating others with respect and practicing what we might preach, as God teaches us, is truly the best course of action. So stay alert to those opportunities to hear with your heart.
Our Gus heard and saw the things God wanted him to as a 5-year-old. He took those things and tucked them away in his heart to use one day. So when you are served “asparagus with icing” someday, remember there could be a special message in it for you!
