My little girl
bright as a dolphin under the sea
trying to tranquilly play in service because she doesn’t know all the grown-up stuff
popped her head up from the pew at service one morning
away from distracted things
Looking up to her father with big little eyes
she queried,
“Daddy, what exactly did Jesus do?”
One of the patrons who sits behind us
a large woman who almost never seemed to smile
cracked a bit from her Sunday stare
a little boy laughed
I looked at her and said,
“Do you know what eternal life is baby?”
“I think so”, she said.
“Well, Jesus came so we could glorify God with him, because He made us. He granted us eternal life by taking everything bad that man could ever think or do, and died as a trade for our redemption. In other words, he didn’t do anything wrong. He did everything right.”
“Do you think you understand a little better?”
“Yeah. It’s like when you protect me. You always take care of me and do what’s best.”
At that I laughed a little louder than I meant to.
“It is a bit like that honey, but He’s even greater than me.”
She hugged me, and for the first time, she seemed happy to try to listen as a child in God’s house as well as play.
This publication relies on men and women who believe that chivalry, character, and morals are still alive. To keep the poetry flowing and support the revival of these virtues, consider securing your subscription below and commenting on this post.
For more of Grant Hope, you can find books, audio visual poetry, and his “Poetry Respite” newsletter at his website: granthopestudios.com