Slow down, spell it out…

We sometimes wonder in our home who is teaching whom. Just this last week Theresa was sitting on the floor with Matthew playing word games as he likes to do. He was signing words and phrases and we were saying them out loud with speech. As often is the case, Matthew was signing phrases, in order from one of his DVD’s of Signing Times. Signing Times is a series of very well done DVD’s where learning sign is done with music and fun graphics. Matthew has almost exclusively learned to sign by watching them.

The phrase that he was trying to have Theresa say was “make the bed.” The sign is a compound sign of a few different motions. Matthew was signing it by placing his two hands together like to pray and laying his head on them as if they were a pillow, then taking his two hands as if he was pulling at the bed sheets to flatten. Theresa could make out the bed part, but couldn’t understand what else he was doing with his hands. Usually in a situation such as this, no matter how many times we sign that we don’t understand, he will get upset, occasionally throw in the sign “pay attention” (smarty pants) and then give up. This time, however, he was patient. He did the sign several times, then stopped. He then signed two distinct signs, having Theresa say both words. First the word “bed”…then he signed “make.” I know it may not sound like much to most people but to us this was huge. He problem solved the situation broke down the phrase and used two words to make his point.

We were pretty excited about this breakthrough…a few days later I was reading a commentary while taking some quiet time before heading off to work…I laughed out loud reading the following words from scripture after Jesus told the Parable of the Sower to his disciples:

Then Jesus said to them. “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” Mark 4:13

He then went on and took the time, as he did many times…and explained the parable to them and what message he was trying to convey in the story.

I know that many times I am like the disciples…God uses very simple things in my own life to get my attention and teach me something new…but, I miss it. I am grateful that he doesn’t give up on me…he may try a different angle or a new story…until he finally drives the point home, sometimes even years later.

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. C. S. Lewis

It is my prayer that I can hear the megaphone right next to my ear.