Today is my grandson’s (DeeJay) birthday. He is 9 years old. Last Spring, Letty and I had the honor of baptizing him. And it has been wonderful to see his faith grow. Let me share a story that happened a couple of days ago.

It was Saturday and we were getting ready to go to the park to play with a the new football and baseball (and mitt) I got him for Christmas. We were both excited to have some wide, open space to play catch with the baseball and kick the football. But we couldn’t find the football. It wasn’t in its normal place. After scouring through the house, we decided we would forgo the football and just play catch with the baseball. DeeJay was clearly disappointed, though.

Our time at the park was also disappointing. I had to play catch with both DeeJay and our five-year old grandson, Aiden (who is just learning how to catch and throw). So DeeJay was getting bored, and his getting bored was getting me upset (a lot of dropped balls and listless throwing – if you catch my drift). We were all having a bad time and it was going south fast!

When Letty got to the park, she took Aiden to the playground equipment (which made him happy). DeeJay asked me, “Grandpa, can we go back home and look for the football?” Now, I was getting really frustrated. But something (Someone) told me to bite my tongue and listen to my grandson. Fortunately, our home was less than a mile from the park. So we got in the car and drove home.

When we got home, the Holy Spirit to prompt my heart and I asked DeeJay, “Can we pray that God helps us find your football?” He said, “Yes.”

And so I prayed, “God, you know where our football is. Can you show us where it is? Give us some ideas in our head. And please help me change my attitude because it really stinks right now. Amen.”

At that moment DeeJay brightened up and said, “I just got an idea! Grandpa, you look downstairs and I’ll look upstairs.” And so we divvied it up. While I was downstairs, I tested my blood sugar and found I was quite low (which explained some of my “foul mood”). So I munched down a banana and a spoonful of peanut butter. Then I heard DeeJay’s voice upstairs, “I found it!!”

Apparently, our cleaning lady moved DeeJay’s football in an odd place. But the Holy Spirit gave DeeJay the idea of where it was as he looked upstairs. As well, the Spirit helped correct my bad attitude by revealing that I had low blood sugar. We talked about what had happened and gave God the credit for both helping us find the football and change our attitudes. We went back to the park for an awesome time together, kicking the football and enjoying each other’s company.

This was a lesson on nurturing childlike faith for both of us. DeeJay needed a real-life example of how we should pray for “everything” (Phil. 4:6) and how God works in answering those prayers. I needed to be reminded to “let go” of my expectations and look at what God is really doing in our midst. From God’s perspective, asking Him to help us find a lost football was important that day. It was the key that helped both a grandpa and a grandson walk deeper in their walk with God and with each other.

What are some lessons have you learned about faith and how God works?

How childlike is your faith today?