From the mouths of babes…momentous day
Today was a momentous day.
Daniel Josiah read all of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham by himself. (Granted, it took nearly 45 minutes between frequent breaks, back scratches to keep him going, some reminding of phonics rules by his mother, and some frustration towards Trinity who would mindlessly blurt out the next word because she’d memorized it, all while he was tediously sounding it out)
I know, I know, you’re kid probably started reading Dr. Seuss when they were four, but for my boy and me, it was a momentous day. And it wasn’t just momentous because Daniel Josiah read a “real” book by himself, it was the door that was cracked open in his mind as to what a world reading can hold.
He paused about 15 pages in (there’s 62 total, he would have you know) and gazed off into the distance…
“Now that I can read REAL books, I can read Katy-Grace and Trinity their books to them. I can read Hansel and Gretel and Hedgie’s Surprise (their current favorites) to them, and you can take a nap. And then during quiet time, I can read all of the books on the girl’s bookshelf. And then I can read all of the books on my bookshelf. And then I can read all of the World War II books (what we are currently studying in homeschool) all by myself.”
THIS is the reason I’ve spent countless hours reading to them for…
so he could realize the vast world of history, imagination, exploration, humor, and adventure that the world of books hold.
and so he could realize the spiritual world that THE Book holds. So that he could read THE Book that has all those things, but for the purpose of knowing a world that will not end. a world that is no longer tainted by sin. a world in which the Creator gets the honor He is due because He loved sacrificially. THE Book that tells the story of THE Word sent into our brokenness that we might read the most magnificent love-story-adventure-defeat-turned-to-triumph-story which all the books in the world can only dimly mirror. He’s on the road to reading, real reading, and the Holy Spirit will help him along the way.
Today was a momentous day.
