Jensen’s depth of thought and analysis is a bit more disguised than Jacob’s. We’re reminded that her mind is always churning at the time that her body finally stops moving…either when she’s lying in bed or strapped in a car seat. Some of our most memorable conversations with Jensen have taken place long after Jacob is fast asleep on the top bunk (that typically takes about 30 seconds) while Jensen is trying to count sheep and attempting to secure a comfortable sleep position that is never duplicated from one night to the next. Amidst some snuggling, she’ll fire off an array of questions and comments that will both make our eyes pop out and want to squeeze her for the entire night.
Recently, we were given some tragic news about a young family in Grand Rapids, Michigan who were friends to Jennifer and me while at Taylor. While the mother and daughters were out of town visiting family, the father and 6-month-old son were called to Heaven as a result of a house fire. Naturally, when I phoned Jennifer, she was shaken to her core and wept throughout the day. The kids were, of course, interested in what could be making mama so upset, so she trusted that they would be mature enough to hear the story without being scared to a point of living in fear of our house burning. The kids seem to have handled it well, but Jensen, in particular, has really taken this tragic story to heart. Often in the stillness of a quiet moment, Jensen will ask some question relative to our house burning. She doesn’t appear to be fearful but, rather, very perplexed, almost as if she thinks that everybody’s house will burn down at some point. She wants to be ready so she knows to stay low and to check the door.
The other night she showed us evidence of her giant-sized heart while chatting late with Jennifer in her bed. “Mommy, we need to teach Janie Grace how to crawl so that she can get away from the fire too. We don’t want her to dive (die) in the fire.” We were reminded how much Jensen adores her little sister. (We observe it via her hugs and kisses on JG during the day but this comment illustrated it for us in a new and fresh way.) Over the course of an hour, the conversation took a series of twists and turns that Jennifer has said left an imprint on her soul. Amidst a variety of topics, the conversation involved Jensen asking to pray for the daughters of the family that lost their dad and brother in Michigan. There were several questions and comments about how we can trust Jesus. Finally…Pop showed up as he has a habit of doing at the most appropriate times. Pop, Jennifer’s maternal grandfather, is on the top of the list of people I wish I could have met. The man is an icon of the Caquelard/Miller families. The stories of him almost seem like folklore now, but I know they’re true. Jacob and Jensen understand that he is in Heaven anxious to meet them some day. Jennifer is always willing to evoke the legend of Pop with the kids, so a discussion of Heaven often leads to the fact that Pop is there already. The other night, probably in a moment where Jennifer wished Pop was still around (humanly) to be proud of his great-grandkids as he always was of his grandkids and children, Jennifer told Jensen again how much she loved her Pop. Jensen wisely and succinctly comforted Jennifer with these words, “Mommy, I know how much Pop loves you too when he sees you from Heaven”. (gulp)
We’ve heard it said so much that it’s become cliché, but there’s a reason it became cliché…”from the mouths of babes”.
Recently, we were given some tragic news about a young family in Grand Rapids, Michigan who were friends to Jennifer and me while at Taylor. While the mother and daughters were out of town visiting family, the father and 6-month-old son were called to Heaven as a result of a house fire. Naturally, when I phoned Jennifer, she was shaken to her core and wept throughout the day. The kids were, of course, interested in what could be making mama so upset, so she trusted that they would be mature enough to hear the story without being scared to a point of living in fear of our house burning. The kids seem to have handled it well, but Jensen, in particular, has really taken this tragic story to heart. Often in the stillness of a quiet moment, Jensen will ask some question relative to our house burning. She doesn’t appear to be fearful but, rather, very perplexed, almost as if she thinks that everybody’s house will burn down at some point. She wants to be ready so she knows to stay low and to check the door.
The other night she showed us evidence of her giant-sized heart while chatting late with Jennifer in her bed. “Mommy, we need to teach Janie Grace how to crawl so that she can get away from the fire too. We don’t want her to dive (die) in the fire.” We were reminded how much Jensen adores her little sister. (We observe it via her hugs and kisses on JG during the day but this comment illustrated it for us in a new and fresh way.) Over the course of an hour, the conversation took a series of twists and turns that Jennifer has said left an imprint on her soul. Amidst a variety of topics, the conversation involved Jensen asking to pray for the daughters of the family that lost their dad and brother in Michigan. There were several questions and comments about how we can trust Jesus. Finally…Pop showed up as he has a habit of doing at the most appropriate times. Pop, Jennifer’s maternal grandfather, is on the top of the list of people I wish I could have met. The man is an icon of the Caquelard/Miller families. The stories of him almost seem like folklore now, but I know they’re true. Jacob and Jensen understand that he is in Heaven anxious to meet them some day. Jennifer is always willing to evoke the legend of Pop with the kids, so a discussion of Heaven often leads to the fact that Pop is there already. The other night, probably in a moment where Jennifer wished Pop was still around (humanly) to be proud of his great-grandkids as he always was of his grandkids and children, Jennifer told Jensen again how much she loved her Pop. Jensen wisely and succinctly comforted Jennifer with these words, “Mommy, I know how much Pop loves you too when he sees you from Heaven”. (gulp)
We’ve heard it said so much that it’s become cliché, but there’s a reason it became cliché…”from the mouths of babes”.
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