MORAL OF THE STORY:

“It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.”

— Charles Dickens

“Do you have any new ‘Aubrey stories’ to tell me?” a friend asked me recently. I understood why she asked, and so do all of you reading this who have ever had conversations with children. Children truly say some of the funniest things, and they can say some of the wisest things too.

I recently read a bedtime story to Aubrey, our 3-year-old granddaughter, and afterward I sang a song called, “Oh How He Loves You and Me.” I finished our nighttime routine with prayers, which included prayers for sweet dreams. Aubrey then said something about God, and apparently my response was a bit too advanced for her. I said, “Isn’t it great that we can go to God any time we want?” Aubrey, who pronounces her R’s and L’s like W’s quickly answered, “Unless there’s a weally wong wine.” She then told me about a store she’d recently gone to with her mom that had “sooo many people and there was a weally wong wine, so we had to weave.”

I tried to rephrase my thought, and told her that one of the amazing things about God is that there is never a really long line, in fact, there is no line at all. Aubrey then said she was afraid of bad dreams, and I told her that if she is ever afraid, she can just pray and Jesus will be there with her. Again Aubrey had an answer, only this one really put me in my place. “But Cici,” she said, “Jesus will be with me even if I don’t pray.”

“Sweetheart, you are absolutely right,” I said. “Jesus is with you all the time.” With that I kissed her, and quietly closed the door.

This is the season where we often find ourselves in stores with “sooo many people,” but when it comes to God, there is never a “weally wong wine.”

And you can quote me on that.

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached at cindy@onthegrow.com or 537 Newport Center Drive, Box 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.