Blue Hippos and Living in Reality

The other morning, I woke up to the most sorrowful cry. I knew it was coming from Sam. I also knew it wasn't a cry of anger, frustration, or pain. It was a cry of the heart, coming from all that was within his little frame.

I jumped out of bed and found him on his bed. He was sitting next to Eli and was cradling his stuffed animal webkinz Blue Hippo. Baby Blue Hippo is probably his most cherished stuffed animal and all the sudden, I knew the sorrow had to do with him.

I looked at Sam and behind the sobbing were huge drops of tears that cascaded down his baby soft cheeks. I tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming.

"Sam, baby, what is wrong, honey?" Through gasps he replied, "Baby Hippo has splinters." I gingerly took baby hippo and cradled him in my hands to inspect for any damage that may have been done by a big brother or dog. No damage was found. I even checked all his stitching to see if he was coming apart at the seams, because his beloved owner certainly was. All stitching was in place.

I quickly decided to not argue with Sam, but to reaffirm what Eli had been trying to do. In his hands, Eli had some "play" veterinarian devices in which he had been trying to remove the stitches. All the sudden, I loved that Eli more than words could say. He didn't argue that Baby Hippo didn't have stitches. He simply met Sam in his anguish and did his best to make it all better.

So, I told Sam in my most cheerful voice that Eli had gotten all the stitches out. Sam looked at me in simple belief, inspected Baby Hippo, and instantly changed his disposition to one of joy.

All the sudden, the tears stopped flowing and a little boy's heart was restored to wholeness.

As I was contemplating the absurdity of crying over fake splinters, the Holy Spirit whispered that His adult children are no different. We cry real tears over issues that may not even equate to reality. We lament over bad things that could happen, but never do happen. We get so engrossed in the lies of Satan that we forget the truth of God.

We are just big kids crying over splinters in blue hippos.

I believe God wants us to live in reality. He doesn't want us to blow things out of proportion. He is a God of truth and wants our minds to rest in that truth. I think it is a constant battle of the mind to find that place of reality and rest.

But, it is comforting to me that even when we can't see the truth, He is right beside as well. Just like Eli, He is sitting on the bed with us and meeting us in our anguish. He sits there until the truth permeates our beings once again, the tears stop flowing, and our hearts our restored to wholeness.