Chocolate ice-cream, please?

Janelle comes running to me, eagerly asking, "Mummy, mummy! Can I have some of the chocolate ice-cream that Josiah had??"

Sounds like a perfectly normal request? Sure. Until..... you realise that you haven't given Josiah any chocolate ice-cream, and that Josiah is supposed to be watching TV with the girls, and that he is now nowhere in sight. 

I call for Josiah and soon he comes toddling down the stairs. True enough, his fingers are covered with some dark brown stuff, and his mouth and chin are smeared with what looks like dark chocolate ice-cream.

Knowing that we have no chocolate or ice-cream within reach, I try to sniff at his fingers to find out what the dark brown stuff is. Unable to pick up any smell, I decide to take him to the basin to have his hands and face washed. It is only then that I realise what this chocolate ice-cream is - SOIL. It feels grainy and matches the description of the one-tonne-load of topsoil we had just bought that was piled in a heap on our front yard.

I can understand that a heap of soil looks inviting enough for a child to want to step on it, climb on top of it, pick it up and throw around, etc. But to eat it?? I would not have imagined! Apparently the heap of soil proved too tempting for Josiah, that he just could not resist tasting it. He probably tried to spit it out, which explains the brown dribble down his chin. I was well-assured after this that the girls did not try bugging me for any more "chocolate ice-cream" after they found out what it really was. Phew! And eeewww!

Reflection on a 4-year-old's question

Today just out of the blue Janine asked me this question: "Why did God make the world and all of us?". It is truly a profound question worthy of a theological paper! The question she was asking was "Why?". Why would God want to create us human beings?

I think it is because God is a God of Love. In 1 John 4:7 we know that "God is love". Being the loving God, He created human beings to demonstrate His love for us. (And we can and should reciprocate this love by loving and enjoying Him.) After all, what fun is it to be the great big God and create an empty world? Or a world of robots? It just does not make sense because it does not tally with the very nature of God - LOVE. 

This question that my four-year-old posed me was a stark reminder of my existence on earth. It is ultimately to ENJOY God. He created us to love Him, to enjoy Him, and to make Him known. Too often we get caught up with pursuing the gifts He has in store, and in the process neglect the Giver Himself. May we all be reminded of the reason for our existence! 

My First 'Baboon'

Josiah will be turning two in September and till now, his favourite toys are still balloons and balls. He especially loves ballons - which he calls "BABOONS" as he is not yet able to pronounce the "L" sound in "balloons". It gets kind of embarrassing when he dashes through the crowds with only one goal in mind - to get nearer to the balloon decoration or any balloon in sight. And being at the age where "me" and "mine" are the two most important words in his vocabulary, he attempts to stake his claim on balloons that are used for advertising or decoration in the shops. Being the doting mother, I have developed a thicker skin and actually asked shopowners or service staff if they could spare my eager son one of their balloons. Half the time they oblige - to Josiah's utter delight! 

Today while I was at home preparing dinner, Josiah came running to me excitedly and pointed in the living room, exclaiming "Baboon! Baboon!!". Not wanting to disappoint him, I dropped what I was doing and followed him to the living room, where he led me to his drawing of.....a BALLOON!! This is the first time he has actually drawn something comprehensible and I am really amazed because all he has managed thus far are scribbles and random lines! I whipped out the camera and managed to capture his very first picture before he "erased" it away :)

I am also very proud and happy that Josiah's first Chinese sentence that he can say with clarity is "wo3 ai4 ni3" which means "I Love You". He says it with such sweetness that you just cannot resist giving him a big hug and kiss! I figure this is not too bad considering his first English word was "No!". His "no" then developed to "oh no!", and now it is "don't know". He now replies "don't know" to questions that he really does not know how to answer. Life is getting amusing with Josiah responding and articulating a little bit more than before!