I am not a kid person. My wife and other people assure me that will change when I become a father. I used to doubt them, and then I met Sam (that’s what we’re going to call him...I won’t use his real name because this kid will probably grow up and hate me for using his real name and beat me up. So, out of fear, I’ll just stick with Sam). Sam’s father and I are very close friends. We’ve known each other since the 1980’s. My wife and I sat down to dinner (at TGI Fridays...pointless reference) with Sam and his parents and, all of a sudden, Sam pointed at me. Now, please realize, Sam is two years old, and I am sort of scared of him. So, yeah, Sam points at me and his eyes get really large. I started feeling convicted, like this kid was getting ready to say something profound and it would make most of us (not me, of course) cry. I imagined him saying, “Nathan! Nathan! Why don’t kids like you? Why, it’s because they think you are a mean person with your big beard!” But Sam didn’t say that. Sam pointed, and then muttered the single word that changed my evening: “E.T.”
So, for those of you who haven't seen the movie, play these videos below. First play the second video. Then, after you have cried and watched, play the first and turn up your speakers so you can re-read the beginning to the music from the film. It will be a life changing event for you, I am sure.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this two year old made a reference to the 1982 thriller, E.T. And he was waiting for my finger to stretch out and touch his, like the movie. Let me stop right now and tell you that if you haven’t seen this movie, then the moment being created here doesn’t carry the “Awww” factor for you. Back to the scene: so what did I do? I stretched out my finger and touched his and said “E.T.” right back at him. AND WE BONDED. We did this no fewer than 4600 times the rest of the evening.
And then I think about God: knowing who God is, understanding him, touching him, seeing him. I know I
lack a lot of understanding about God. But that night over the dinner table at TGI Fridays, I learned about God through his creation, again. Imagine eating with God. Do it, right now. Imagine you and God are at TGI Fridays. What happens when you sit at a table with someone you don’t understand? What happens when you try and communicate with someone, who is so powerful and pure, that you really can’t connect? What happens when you really understand your vulnerability in that moment? Here’s what happens: you mutter something familiar. It can be a question, a word, or a song. And what happens in that moment, the other person makes the connection.Now, I am not comparing myself to God. I am comparing myself to Sam. At God’s table in TGI Fridays, I feel like, most of the time, I am looking at him with big new eyes and pointing. And you know what? God makes the connection. I just have to be vulnerable, and look at Him.
“Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, Bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee. ‘Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.’"
-David, the Poet King
