Sorry, Jesus ... You've Got Some Competition

Grace is destined to be a singer of some kind. This girl will take on any song, anywhere, and belt it out ... whether she knows it or not. While other children in church -- Aidan included -- are busy coloring or otherwise occupying their time with quiet endeavors, Grace chooses to stand on the chair next to me, propped securely by my arm around her ... and she lets loose on the worship songs. Some of them she knows -- perhaps not all the words, but she certainly doesn't let that stop her. And yesterday, she discovered her favorite: "Your Grace is Enough."

Grace cannot read, but the one grouping of letter she can recognize is G-R-A-C-E. And there it was, in all its glory, up on the screen in front of the church -- like some kind of glorious marquis for a Hollywood actress. Her eyes lit up, her little finger pointed, a smile brightened her face -- "It's "Grace!" It's me!" And so she took off, singing heartily ... about herself.

A short while later, another song came on the screen: "In Christ Alone." I happen to love this song, and I was rather stunned when Grace suddenly stood as still as a statue ... then dropped down in her chair, sobbing her little heart out. What in the world could be wrong? Through her (very loud -- is there any other way?) gulps and sobs, she spat out the offense:

"My name isn't there! Now they're just singing about Jesus ... and I ... don't ... want ... it! What about me? What about me?!"

Oh, my ... I couldn't stop myself. I had to laugh. If you could encapsulate a moment which thoroughly illustrates how completely egocentric children are, this would be it. And this girl's got guts ... trying to trump Jesus is quite a feat! And of course, later on, her Omnicient Big Brother had to chime in with a lesson of his own. "The song's not about you, Grace," he gently chided. "It's about a different kind of "grace" ... a holy grace. You are not holy."

The loose definition of "holy" is "set apart." And you know, maybe Aidan isn't quite right ... I do believe Grace is "set apart" ... in one way or another!