Behold Your Little Ones

“Arrrgh! If I have told you once, I have told you a thousand times, we don’t have any newspaper. If you had told me about this homework assignment earlier, I could have done something.”

“Mom!!! I must finish my homework!”

The conversation flew before my eyes in sign language as I walked into the house on a Sunday evening. Parker, at age 6, had an assignment to create a paper mache animal for school and was furious that there was no newspaper in the house for him to use.

“Parker, if you had told me about this homework a few days ago, we could have bought some newspaper. It’s too late right now and we are not going to the store.”

Instead of intervene and rescue either Parker or his mother from this conversation, I just stood with a smile and watched.  I don’t know why, but watching little boys throw a fit is cute to me. The stomping and yelling makes me giggle—maybe it’s from all of the Calvin and Hobbes comics I read as a child. After a few more similar exchanges, Parker turned to me and pled his case.

“I’m sorry,” I responded, “We will not go to the store tonight to buy a newspaper. You will have to tell your teacher that your assignment will be late.”

Parker’s face reddened and he yelled back in retort, “Fine! I will ask God for a newspaper!” He then stomped to his room and shut himself in.

I looked to my wife and wondered if there was anything we could have done to help our son. His distress was obvious and I wanted to help. Before we could think of a solution, Parker came out of his room smiling.

“The newspaper is here,” he announced as he walked to the front door.

My wife and I followed him and wondered what would happen. We didn’t subscribe to any newspaper services, so we knew there was no such thing waiting for him on our porch. Besides that, I had just walked across the empty porch and crossed the naked threshold a few minutes earlier; therefore I knew nothing but disappointment waited to greet him as he opened the door.  

“Here it is!” Parker announced after he opened the door. We then watched him reach down and pick up a huge bundle of newspaper that rested at the bottom of our door frame.

“How did that happen?” I asked Parker in surprise.

“I prayed. Heavenly Father answered my prayer. Let’s make my animal.”