Unsolicited

Two of my granddaughters arrived at the back door.
They ran from the driveway to the kitchen door as fast as their little legs could carry them.
I imagined them jumping down from the mini van as soon as the car door opened.
I heard their footsteps as they came down the walkway.

Then I hear the knock, rhythmic and predictable.
I opened the door with genuine joy and open arms.
They came bounding in with hugs all around.
The little one said, I’m at Grandma’s house, with such joy on her face.

They both were wearing princess dresses with jeans underneath.
That seems to be their attire.
They love when I recognize which princess they are pretending to be.
I am getting to be an expert.

They know the routine, as they take off their shoes and put them on the back stairs.
They hang their coats on the shaker peg rack in the laundry room.
They immediately decide which of “Grandma’s toys” they will play with first.
Even though they have played with these toys many times before, they seem new to them.

I love the honesty of children.
I love the fact that they act without pretense.
They are not trying to impress.
Their thoughts come pouring out; the challenge is to keep up with them.

I watch them play and remember their daddy playing in the same room, in the same way.
I tell the older one that quite often.
She is most like her daddy.
Yet, she talks of being a nurse someday like her mommy.

I have a question that I ask my grandchildren as they get older.
Why are you special?
Of course they know that they are special because God made them.
However, I wanted them to have a unique answer that pertained to them.

My oldest granddaughter has the answer only she can have: I made you a Grandma.
Her sister answered: because I am so good at arts and crafts, (which she is).
The oldest daughter of my son was asked the same question.
Without missing a beat she answered: Because I am the first Gallagher.

She was right, since her four cousins, my daughter’s children, have a different last name.
She is so proud of that fact.
I am still amazed that she made that connection.
I am still impressed that she could articulate it.

Her little sister, who will be three-years-old in May, talks and sings all the time.
I hear her in the morning when she stays at Grandma’s house.
I try not to giggle as she sings as if a musical is being made of her life.
Her little personality shines through.

She will come running from the family room, into the kitchen, and hug me around the knees.
Grandma, I love you, she says looking up at me with her blue eyes.
She’ll run back to the toys and begin to play again.
The word kept coming to me to describe her sweet comments: unsolicited.

My husband told me about her coming to him before they were ready to leave.
I’m going to miss you and Grandma, Pop-Pop, she told him sweetly.
As he told me, he used the same word, I had been thinking.
Unsolicited.

Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

My little granddaughter challenged me.
Her unsolicited comments warmed our hearts.
There was no coercion.
No one was telling her what to say; she just spoke from her heart.

Do I talk to God that way?
Do I give Him unsolicited praise?
Or do I measure my words when I talk to Him in prayer?
Am I honest with a no holds barred attitude when I talk to Him?

My little granddaughter didn’t rehearse her words when she spoke to us.
She just spoke from her heart, which touched our hearts so deeply.
What if I talked to God just like that?
I love you, Lord…I am in the Father’s house…I miss You when we haven’t spoken in a while.

Out of the mouths of babes.
From the lips of children you have ordained praise. (Psalm 8:2)
Unsolicited.
That kind of prayer touches the Father’s heart.