From The Mouths of Babes

So just a little while ago, we were driving to dinner, and my KayKay was talking to me from the back seat about writing down her dreams, and about growing up, when suddenly she said something to the effect of, "Our parents always want us to grow up and have all the tools we need." She's six-and-a-half now - extremely bright for her age - and we have discussions about life and growing up fairly frequently.

Anyway, I recognized that phrase from one of the prayers that I often pray over her and the Ladybug before bed, and decided to run with it to see where she would take the idea. So I asked her, "Well, what kind of tools do you need when you grow up?" Here is the conversation which took place after that question came about...

"The fruit of the Spirit; love, joy, peace..."

"You're very right, KayKay, those are some of the tools you need, and that Mommy and Daddy want you to have when you grow up... So what do you think these tools are for?"

"Love, joy, peace, long-suffering..."

"No, my silly girl, you've already told me WHAT the tools are, but I want to know how you think you will USE them."

"Well, joy is a tool."

"Yeah, babe, joy is a tool. But why is joy an important tool in your life to be successful as a grown-up?"

"I don't get it. Love and kindness and gentleness..."

"Okay, KayKay, how about this - a rake is a tool, right? What do you use a rake for?"

"For raking."

"Raking?"

"Raking leaves"

"Right. So joy is a tool, and love is a tool, so how do you think you will use those?"

"Ohhhhh! Loving other people!"

And I'm thinking to myself, "You go girl. Live this life, KayKay, full of love." But I only said aloud, "Good thinking. Now think for a minute more about the other Fruits of the Spirit and how you can use them in your life." I wanted her little brain to work some of this stuff out.

At this point, the Ladybug pipes up from the back that it's her turn to talk, PLEASE, and goes on to say that all the Fruit of the Spirit are growing on a big tree and her and Mommy and Daddy and the KayKay are all going to stand under the tree and pick the Fruit.

Ahem.

I thought that was a lovely story, but I *really* wanted to know what my KayKay was thinking. So we moved on. Very quickly. I told the Little Ladybug that I thought her story was very sweet and now it was KayKay's turn to talk. I asked her if she'd thought about some of the other Fruits and what they meant and how they were used, and she proceeded with some amazing wisdom from that little six-and-a-half-year-old brain.

"Joy: being joyful, and having joy. Giving joy to other people so they can be happier.

Kindness: doing things for other people so that they can have more. Using nice words and sharing. Being friends with people.

Faithfulness: being true and right and noble. Being kind to friends, and good."

Whoa. She just blew my socks off. They're still off! I think they're going to stay off for a while.

Faithfulness. Noble, right and true. You got that right, girl.