After intense three months of going through “30 Bible Basics Every Christian Must Know”[here’s how to get your free download here], I think it’s only fair to have a ‘laughter break!’ I have very few friends who can make me laugh as much as these dear friends of mine in Mumbai. Joseph and Mary (their real names!!) love Jesus, love each other, love life and most surely love their kids.
And it happens to be their oldest son who seems to be funny; and that too without his knowledge. I can’t wait for his little brother to grow, I wonder how he will be. I couldn’t help but request her to write down all his reality bites. Enjoy the story from Mama Mary.
Noah and Jeremiah
After our marriage we gave ourselves two whole years to enjoy each others company and learn about each other… And Thank God we did! Because once the children come in, time runs out.
I have two boys.
Life can be so hard on us that we need assurances and reminders that God still loves us and still has our best interests at heart. My older son loves God. He is all of six but I thank God that He chose me to be his mother. Although we have named him Noah, I call him “ITEM” because that is what he is, a Masterpiece, he is a work of art, he is fun, full of life and creativity and OH…a reminder that God has a brilliant sense of humor.
The Broken Washing Machine
Let me tell you why I call him an “Item”. Noah can make us burst into laughter at any given time. He lets me know his worth when he opens his mouth to speak. He is wise, sensible and very loving but can also be really funny. Like the day he went to my aunt’s place he realized that her washing machine was broken, he immediately took it upon himself (at 5 yrs old) to buy her a washing machine. “Don’t worry, I have a lot of money, my appacha (my grand dad) gave me money (Rs. 100/-).
Noah and Food!
Noah, when it comes to food, however is a different story, he makes me pray “God give me patience, but please HURRY!” He eats, not because he likes food or because he has to live, he eats, because he wants to get over with it. There are so many other things to do in life, why waste time on food! (He feels the same about sleep too!) I have tried cooking all kinds of food to meet his nutritional requirement and his taste buds, I think I fail miserably.
I remember a time when he was 3 years old and after eating about 2 spoons, he looks at me and says “I don’t want, Mama. I am fasting!”
So then think of my surprise when another day after eating chicken, (age 6 now) Noah looks totally surprised and asks “Wow mama, who cooked this” I said I did…… “Really, I never knew you could cook”
The Strange Smelly Fish
At age 4, Noah loved going to my aunt’s place because he enjoys playing with my cousin. One day when my aunt was cleaning fish, he goes to her kitchen and asks her what she was doing.
She said “I’m cleaning fish”
He said ‘Can I touch it”
She said “No, it is smelly, you will smell of fish”
After thinking for a while he says “Fish is always in the water, taking bath, I don’t know why it is still always smelling.”
Strange indeed.
That’s Not What They Taught Me in School
Then thinking that she is very old (he calls her grandma), he says “When you were young, did birds deliver your letters to you?” He was utterly surprised when she said that she only got mails through postmen.
General Knowledge
We live in the overpopulated city of Mumbai where we spend more time traveling and getting stuck in traffic than with our family. One day, while we were traveling in our car to some place, I took it upon myself to give my son some general knowledge!
So I asked Noah “Where do fish live Noah? Reply– In the water.
And where do birds live? – “On trees…Wow I am impressed, I never taught him all this. So I asked him, “Ok then……..where do people live?”
“People…people live in traffic” How profound!!
How About the Babies?
The same day, on our way back Noah saw a big man standing on the road. He had a very huge belly. He looked at that man for some time and then blurted out, “But Mama, only girls can have babies no?”
Mama Gets It Wrong
Now that Noah goes to school he has a lot to study, he is always bargaining and negotiating with me, trying to bring a balance between his studies and playtime. The balance always tips in favor of playing.
The other day he was in a hurry to rush off to play when I asked him to sit down to complete a school project. I was busy with some work in the kitchen when he asked me the spelling of noise from the other room. I thought I heard him right but when I checked his work after some time I realized that he had spelled noise wrongly (noice), immediately I corrected him. This meant that had to correct his spellings in some 4-5 different places in that project. Looking really disappointed in me, he quickly says “What ya mama, are you my real mama?”
Helping Hand
And it’s not just my son who has a different view of life. His very dear friend once went for a party. He had to be a part of the older women’s conversation as there were no kids around. He heard a lady talk at length of how she finds it difficult to make tea and how much she struggles to get it right. He quickly joined in the conversation and said “It’s very easy aunty…I’ll teach you, one standing line and one sleeping line on top of it” There instantly, he made “T”.
Finally, What We are Missing
All this sounds funny when we hear our kids talk, but helps us also understand that there is always another perspective to life which we may miss in the chaos and confusion that sometimes surround it. These kids with their humor come as gentle reminders that “All is well”. Life is good, if we take time to sit down, relax and enjoy whatever God has placed in our laps.
There may still be many things we don’t have…a good job, a home, a husband, but there are many things that we do have… My son always tells me “Mama, thank you for everything… I love you and dada a lot, I know you scold me but that’s ok, that is because I do bad things but I think you and dada are very kind people…. And you love me a lot…”
I wish I could say that to God when I am all miffed with Him and His ways!
Let’s pray:
Dear God….. I know you love me a lot, I know you correct me when I am wrong, and deny me things that I want….but that is because you are training me, it’s not because you don’t love me. I think you are very kind and a faithful God…Love, Me.
Don’t forget to drop in a word to Mary and Noah! I’ll ask them to drop in here to read it right from you. Have a favourite real life joke? Share it with us.