Tree Climbing

Tonight Jordan wanted a bedtime story. Of course she did. After spending almost 3 hours doing her homework, then eating her dinner and getting ready to lay down, she begged me for a story. In a tired, frustrated, weak-mommy moment, all I wanted to do was put her to bed and move on to the million other things I still had to do.

Then a small something inside me urged, "Read your little girl a story. She won't be little for long."

So I walked over and picked up one of our 55 (or so) Bible Story books and let her choose the story that she wanted to hear.  She chose "The Man Who Was Too Little." And I read it to her.  As she struggled to keep her eyes open, the story spoke to me in a very adult way as I turned the pages.

I think that the story of Zacchaeus might be the all-time best Bible story made into a VBS song that will never ever die. In my mind, in fact, it's such a VBS song that I never really looked at the story to see if it had a lesson for grown-up me.  Tonight, it really did.

Zacchaeus was too little.  He was a tax collecter.  He probably wasn't the popular guy in town, due to the two previous characteristics.  But he heard that Jesus was around, and he wanted to see Jesus.  The story is in Luke 19, and in the scriptures it's super short. He wanted to see Jesus but couldn't see over the crowd, so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree.

Jordan's story took some literary liberties. It made him run this way and that, dodging people left and right, trying to peek over shoulders. Luke didn't say all that happened, but I'm 5'1" and can relate--I feel like some of that probably occurred.  Finally, in the story book, he ran way ahead to the big tree in town to climb up and be higher than the crowd.

Jesus knew he was up there.  And Jesus knew why.  And while Zacchaeus was content just to get a glimpse of Jesus, Jesus rewarded his effort with way more than a glimpse.  He went to his house and changed Zacchaeus' eternity.

All it took was the desire and the effort and Jesus came to him.

When I need a fresh glimpse--when I feel like I just can't see through the muck and the mire and the crowd--all I need to do is make the effort.  Find a tree to climb so I can see Him again.  And He will come the rest of the way.

Refreshing, huh?

Thanks for the bedtime story, sweet Jordan.