I resolve to memorize more Bible passages this year. They grow my spirit. Besides, I have Beans to keep ahead of.
Celebration day, feast on the table, house full of people. Five-year-old Butterfly Bean watches me pour out cider. Whispers, "Nana. I have something to tell you."
"Yes?" I reach for another glass.
She reaches up. Grabs a hank of hair and yanks my head down to hers. Very persuasive, that one. The pouring stops instantly.
"Goodness, darlin', what is it?" I suspect blood. A broken toy. Writing on the wall. At the very least, a request for help in the washroom.
Still holding my hair hostage she hisses into my ear, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that if anyone believes in him, he will not perish, but have eternal life."
For over two decades I wore a fragile gold cross, a cherished gift from an older sister. Until its chain received one tug too many, I recited that very verse whenever one of the Beans touched it. Eventually they joined me, their infant lisps more tones than words. We did that hundreds of times, always including the reference: John 3:16. It stuck, I assumed.
"Wow, I'm impressed! And where does that verse come from?"
"From Awana," she hisses again, referring to a mid-week kid's church club she and her siblings attend.
Not the cross after all. Nevertheless"Neat! And what book do we find it in?"
"The Bible!"
"Right, honey. But it's in another book, too. Do you remember where?" I'm chasing the reference.
"My Awana book!"
"Anywhere else? Is it in J."
She's shouting now, or as loud as a hissing whisper can go. "It's in MY BROTHER'S AWANA BOOK, TOO!"
"NEAT! But, honey, in what place can we find it?"
"AT AWANA!"
I hint. "What about John?"
"THREE SIXTEEN!" she yells. Skips away, grinning.
Memorizing is good for the brain, researchers have found. Most of us tuck away phone numbers, social media tags, and favourite channels without effort. But memorizing scripture? That's slow-release fertilizer for the Christ-following spirit. The more we bury inside, the more it grows us up.
Celebration day. Feast on the table. House full of people. One little girl reminds us why. Pour out the cider! Raise a glass! And... "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"
And that's found in 2 Corinthians 9:15.
