“Birds or Blooms” or “Can You Hear Me Now?”

photo by Barb Briggs

As I drove down rural roads last June, my three-year-old grandson and I played a game to pass the time and practice identifying colors and shapes. I would tell him what I saw, and he would look for it.

“I see a yellow sign shaped like a triangle.”

“I see a red barn.”

“I see blue flowers.” I pointed to the plants lining the shoulder of the highway. “They’re called chickory.”

“Chickadee,” said my grandson, thinking he was repeating what I’d said.

photo by Terry Landers

“Chickory.” I corrected.

“Chickadee.”

“Chickory.”

“Chickadee.”

“Chick-or-ree.”

“Chickory?”

“Yes.”

He was familiar with “chickadee,” so that was the word he heard.

New is hard. It takes a while to twist our tongue around a new word or to open the door a crack to a new idea.

When the apostle Paul was on the road to Damascus, he saw a bright light and heard a voice saying, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.” I might have answered, “So, God, I keep persecuting the Christians, right?” but Paul answered, “What shall I do, Lord?” Paul was willing to hear something new.

Perhaps none of us will see a blinding light, and few will be asked to take the gospel to far-away nations, but all of us may be asked to speak to someone we don’t know, think about a Bible verse in a different way, or consider a new ministry.