The Helmet

My father-in-law has been here on and off for the last few days, soaking up the grandkids and generally doing what grandparents do: spoiling.

Violet, in particular, has been eating it up. This is a child who loves to be adored, doted on, and paid attention to. And her G is happy to do all those things.

Our house is especially football crazy right now, and the kids rotate through multiple jerseys every day. The boys have football helmets from last year’s birthdays, but Violet has to beg, borrow, or steal one if she wants to be part of the action. As you can imagine, her brothers aren’t really pleased about loaning theirs out, especially to a little girl who can’t really play the game.

(Of course, they aren’t really playing the game, either. They’re mostly acting out a football game instead of actually playing one, but don’t tell them that.)

So Violet loves the Vikings, for all the important reasons. Actually, for one very important reason: she likes purple. And yesterday, after showers of gifts, she asked her G for a Viking helmet. I hushed her, but she wouldn’t quit. And of course, G promised he’d get her one. Because G can’t say “no” to anything she asks for.

When we said goodbye in the parking lot a Dewey’s, Violet wailed that she didn’t get her Viking helmet. I told her she needed to be patient.

Frankly, I figured it would never materialize, but when G left our house he was headed to stay with a friend in Tennessee. The friend sells awards to the sports industry, and he has quite a collection of NFL memorabilia, including – you guessed it – a Vikings helmet.

That helmet is now in G’s car, ready to be mailed to Violet.

She does have to be patient, because her G had to go get the helmet, but it’s coming to her. She asked for something extravagant, and what she got is even better than she realizes. She wanted a toy, and she got the real deal.

I’ve been struggling in this season to ask for extravagant things. I mean, we are a household without any income. Just a job…a job close to as good as the one that was lost…would do the trick. Asking for big things feels like a set-up for failure. Actually, everything about life feels like a set-up for failure. Today James and I both prayed for something encouraging on the job front, and instead we got what appears to be a very discouraging development.

I mean, why pray?

But when I saw that helmet, I was reminded that our Father in heaven loves us so much more than even G can love his little granddaughter, and it doesn’t matter whether we’re cute or deserving or perfect. I can ask for bold things, and God can provide them. I mean, this past year we’ve wanted for nothing, even though all I asked for was a way for me to be able to stay home and be poor.

I feel like God gave me a glimpse of his heart, of how He feels about me, and of how He intends to care for us. I’m still scared – I mean, I’m up at 1 am typing this because I can’t sleep. But I just have to go back to the image of Violet asking courageously…and the benevolent response of a G her loves her. God has given me these children to teach me how to relate to Him. I think He wants me to be more like Violet.