My wife, daughter, granddaughter and I were in a Janie
& Jack’s children’s store at an Indianapolis mall, shopping, obviously, for
the granddaughter. While not her legal, given name, she is affectionately known
to Yours Truly as Gidgy. Don’t ask me why; she’s just always been Little Gidgy
to me. Next March she turns six, but during this Janie & Jack’s adventure
she wasn’t much older than two. While the women shopped, it was my assignment
to watch The Gidge. I can’t speak for other grandfathers, but for Grapper
(that’s what Gidgy calls me), Gidgy watching is an marvelous treat.
Now I have to explain what Gidgy watching actually
means. It means . . . well, watching
Gidgy. I’m not an interferer unless it is absolutely necessary or I’m asked to
interfere by the Gidge. (I respond to “Up Grapper” or “Down Grapper” or “Hold
hand” or any number of Gidgy commands.) I am a true watcher and avoid
unsolicited interference. Gidgy watching is one of the most educational and
entertaining things I do.
On this particular occasion, after checking out
everything of interest to a Gidgy attention span in this relatively small
store, she took it upon herself to check out the rest of the mall. She quite
deliberately walked out of the Janie & Jack’s and down the hall toward the
escalators. With me watching and following at an interfere-able yet discreet
distance, she made her way up the escalator, across the second floor to the
down escalator, down the same hall from whence she came, and back into Janie
& Jack’s.
Now to all you shocked Mothers out there reading this,
you need to understand that I suddenly starting viewing everyone in that mall
as a potential pedophile, and was ready to interfere at any given moment, so I
was not shirking my grandfatherly duty. Gidgy didn’t realize this. She was on an
intense, private exploration, but I can assure you, Moms, I was ready!
Fortunately, no interference was necessary.
From time to time I’ll lean back in my chair, rub the
computer glare out of my eyes and reminisce about those memorable few moments. The
entire adventure probably only lasted between ten and fifteen minutes. I
actually started laughing right out loud on a couple of occasions thinking
about it. I’m sure my colleagues thought I must be losing my mind. During one
of those recent reminisces, it dawned on me that this is such a microcosm of
life. We’re all on this great, personal journey, and walking none too steadily
much of the time, up one escalator and down another, across the hall into one
phase of life, then out again to the escalators and on to yet another phase.
All during her sojourn I could tell Gidgy was
confident and knew where she was going. No one was bothering her. She was safe,
so I left her alone to learn and to explore. Ah, but I was watching, and I was
ready to interfere at a moment’s notice, and I have since interfered many times
in other circumstances.
How like God this is. He is watching every individual
reading these lines, as well as those that aren’t. He’s not nervous about our
circuitous journey because He’s our Grapper-God, and He loves us. If I may be
so bold, He’s excited about our successes . . . and there to interfere for us
in our failures.
Can it be that the sovereign God takes pleasure in our
explorations? I know how proud I felt as I watched Gidgy fearlessly make her
way through that mall and safely back again to Janie & Jack’s.
Most of the time we aren’t even cognizant that He’s
there as we go up and down life’s escalators, moving in and out of life’s
various phases, but my friends, He’s there alright . . . and He’s ready to
interfere at a moment’s notice.
