God Is Organizing

The other day while walking along the beach with our little Pop-Tart, she asked me to pick her up from the ground because the sand was too hot on her feet. Lifting her to my chest so mine was touching hers, I wrapped my arms around her to hold her snug. She wanted to go to the nearby swings planted in the sand next to the boardwalk, so we headed in that direction. Along the way I was soaking in the moment and so enjoying holding this little wildflower in my arms. Suddenly I blurted out with a soft voice into Poppy's left ear, "Why do you think God was so kind to Mommy and Daddy to give us such a sweet little Poppy-girl?" Poppy didn't have to think long and quickly replied, "Because God is organizing." I was immediately impressed with the accuracy of her theology at such a young age because God is, indeed, a God of order (cf. I Corinthians 14:33). Thinking that I knew what she meant by that statement, I said, "O, I see. You mean God saw that there was a little girl by the name of Poppy over in China and He said, 'I think that little girl over there needs a family so I'm going to give her to Mommy and Daddy.'" She said, "No, God saw that Mommy and Daddy didn't have enough children because all they had was Austin, Annie and Barret, and decided that they needed a little Poppy-girl like me so He gave me to you." Profound, I thought. Here I was thinking that Victoria and I were being used by God to do something for her, and here she was thinking that she was being used by God to do something for Victoria and me. I suppose that if I think about it long enough (although it doesn't take much thought, really), the scales of impact are more heavily weighted in our favor, meaning that Poppy's influence over us has perhaps been heavier than ours on hers. Who knows for sure, but God? Regardless, our simple exchange reminded me once again that giving ourselves away yields rebounded effects that should never serve as the motive for love, but always serve as the effects of love.

Thank you, Poppy.