I was devastated to hear the news of the Movie Theatre
massacre in Aurora Colorado last week.
I had to think that this was the complete opposite of an encounter I had
with strangers at a movie theatre earlier in the week.
I took Hannah and a friend to see “Brave”. The movie was great but the conversation I
had with twin boys prior to the show was over the top!
We went to a small hometown theatre where the movies are
cheap, the popcorn is great, the chairs are broken and the floor is
sticky!! But we enjoy going there
anyway.
The room we were in had about 30-40 seats in it only. The three of us where the only three there
until a woman walked in with two darling twin boys who appeared to be preschool
age.
They were of Mexican descent with big brown expressive eyes
and their hair slicked over to one side.
One carried a big bag of popcorn and they both chattered non-stop to the
“grandmother” that was with them. As
grandma assessed the situation she decided that two active boys plus one large
soda equals one accident waiting to happen.
So, she told the boys to sit tight while she ran to the concession stand
to get another cup so they could each have a cup to use. (Again this is a very small place and the
concession stand is just outside the door).
Recognizing her dilemma I offered to go get the cup for
her. Thinking they may charge her for it
she thought she should go. “They’ll be
fine – it’s just right outside the door,” she said.
Before I could even turn around one of the little boys piped
up and said – “Hi, I’m Anthony” to which his brother added – “And I’m
Daniel”. Seeing they were now occupied
grandma quickly exited to get the cup.
My conversation with these two live wires went as follows:
Anthony: ….and we have a little baby brother named Jonathon.
Daniel: ….but he was
just a baby in my mommy’s tummy and now he is borned and he is too little to
come to the movie with us.
Me: Oh – so you are
big brothers? You are brothers aren’t
you?
Anthony: - Yes
Daniel: We are twins!
Me: How old are you
boys:
Anthony: 5. Welll, we were 4 but then we went to Mexico then
we were 5.
Me: Oh, so will you
go to Kindergarten this year?
Anthony: No we don’t
go to school but we aren’t babies anymore.
Daniel: We were babies in our mommy’s tummy but that’s just
how God made us…. Do you know God?
Me: (quite shocked by
this little man’s innocence and boldness all rolled into one) Why yes I do,
very well – He is my savior?
Anthony: Well, do you
know his book?
Me: Oh yes, I do and
I read it a lot
Daniel: My momma has
His book and she reads it a lot too.
By this time Grandma was back and they were sidetracked by
the snacks being presented and the start of the previews.
I, however, sat glaring at the previews on the screen but
feeling blessed to have just been witnessed to by a couple of 5 year olds.
There were “God markings” all over this little episode, but
two things impressed me the most:
1. Talking about God
to a total stranger was just as natural as breathing for these little
boys. What if I hadn’t been a Christian,
hadn’t known God? Would I have been positively impacted by such a convicting question presented by
such an adorable messenger? These little fellas had no reservations, were not
inhibited in any way, didn’t care where they were and weren’t afraid of
offending anyone. If only I spoke the name of Jesus/God as carefree as these
innocent little boys do? What a lesson
to me about testifying no matter where you are or who you are with.
2. The example of
being in God’s word that this mother has set for these boys. As glad as she must have been to have a
little reprieve from these two little chatterboxes and have some alone time with
her newborn, I’m sure her heart would have swelled to bursting if she could
have heard their witness to a total stranger that day. She definitely has set an example of Godly
character for these young boys.
Obviously, they have noticed that momma reads the Word. Obviously, they have taken note that God is
number one in their home. Children are
mimickers of what they see and hear – obviously, they see and hear a lot about
God in their home. Have I set this
example for my children? Are they
impacted by what they see and hear in our home?
I have not met this mother but she has impacted me greatly with her
Godly character reflected from the mouths of her tiny sons.
I went to see a movie and came out of there being moved!
What a blessing!
