Imagination? No Problem

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

1 Corinthians 13:11

Grandmothers like me are worrywarts; my condition was handed down to me from my own mother. I cannot help it. I worry about the mind-numbing effect of television, video games, the Internet, and peer pressure on my grandchildren. But helping them to learn the benefits of thinking for themselves is a goal worth reaching, and whenever they are in my care, I do my best to ensure that their imaginations get plenty of stimulation.

We have made forts from couch cushions and chair throws, battled dinosaurs in the wilds of Montana, and had tea parties on the living-room rug. I always hope I am doing my part, but I still wonder how much these activities are really helping my grandchildren’s developing minds.

One busy afternoon I had to give my four-year-old grandson a time-out for shoving his baby sister. He sat with his arms crossed, pouting on a dining-room chair where I had told him he had to sit for five minutes. Of course, for the first three minutes he bargained and begged for a reduction in his sentence, but I would not give in. I ignored his yowling while I soothed his sister in the adjoining room, until he suddenly grew quiet. I was relieved that he had settled down to wait out his time, but then he spoke.

In his best boy voice he said, “Grandma? You know, everybody has to listen to their legs, and mine are telling me I need to walk!”

His ability to reason and use his imagination no longer concerns me.

—Susan Sundwall

Father, help us to love all the stages of our lives so that we may grow into full adulthood with you. Help us to eventually put away our childish ways and mature into the leaders you need us to become. Amen.

From the book