Making Memories

When my grandson Jack was a little boy I would spend a day making memories with him. One of the ways I would make a memory was to take him to town, give him a five dollar bill and tell him that he could spend it however he wanted. His eyes would light up and he would take my hand and lead me to his favorite corner downtown. Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop was at that corner.

Jack would walk me past the ice cream shop to the man who was sitting on the curb begging. I don’t know how the man had lost his legs or who had brought him to beg on the sidewalk; these were not questions my five year old grandson asked. Jack was eye level with the man he was seeking. He would look at him and talk to him and joyfully give him his five dollar bill. Because of Jack, I too would stop and make eye contact and not just drop a coin in his outstretched hand.

That was ten years ago. Jack is fifteen now, but he is still teaching me what lovingkindness means. Yesterday we had a group of teenage boys come to the farm. They were delightful. They were blind, and had come to simply experience the farm. First, they took a horseback ride. The expression on their faces as the mounted the horse made me smile. But riding the horse was only the beginning.

Jack drove up on the tractor. I watched as he helped each boy climb up. He showed them the clutch, the throttle, and  the steering wheel. With Jack by their side, each boy was able to experience what it was like to drive a tractor. Watching him yesterday I was reminded of the days I would take him places to make memories for him. Yesterday I tucked another memory into my heart.

In the book of Acts there is a story of a man who was lame from birth who was carried every day to the temple gate called Beautiful, so he could beg. I wonder how many people tried not to see him as they passed by? I wonder how many people dropped coins in his outstretched hand without pausing on their way into the temple? But the Bible says Peter and John looked intently at him. They didn’t drop coins into his hand, they took hold of his hand. In this way they introduced him to the healing power of Jesus Christ.