Pages

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Keep On Truckin' - Wrinkled Brows

Wrinkled Brows - on Mondays - an eclectic series on quotations or word definitions.

 It was back-to-school night; one of those occasions when parents gather at school sites all over the country to meet their child's teachers, take a look at their student's handiwork, and hear a bit about how their son or daughter is doing.

Many parents look forward to these little get-togethers, some dread them, and others simply never know what to expect.  We fell into the latter category.

Our middle son was one of those kids that just kept you on the edge of your patience, as well as the edge of your seat, for his entire childhood.  He was a good athlete, but a so-so student, and he could be so charmingly unassuming about it that you didn't quite know how to reproach him.  Or at least we didn't.  He was a happy, carefree little guy, with a laid back attitude, and a wacky sense of humor.

Thus, one evening when he was in second-grade, we approached the school grounds with a by-now-familiar sense of "what will he do next?" tension.   On this occasion, we need not have worried, as he was on his best behavior, and he was glad to show us his art project.

First the teacher told the assembled parents that, for this occasion, she had assigned the children the task of drawing three pictures that illustrated how they saw the world and life.  Within those very broad parameters, they could draw anything they wanted.  Oh, boy....

We approached our son's first drawing and saw that he had drawn a big shining sun with grass and a couple of attempted trees, and the caption in his large left-handed scrawl read:  God Is Love.

Well, color us happy.  The next picture showed a big cross at the top, a smiling face in the center of the page and down at the bottom a stick figure of a little boy.  The caption read:  Jesus Loves Me.

I was about to burst into happy-tears of love and pride, thinking, "He gets it.  And this is pretty deep stuff for a seven-year old.  First a global view - God is love; then a personal application - Jesus loves me."  Wow!  Color us both happy and proud.

We then moved on to his final drawing.  It was a big rig truck, with the simple caption:  Keep On Truckin'.  We looked at each other and burst out laughing.  I have laughed about it every time I remembered it since.

Additionally, I have also used this little story numerous times in various talks and speeches to church groups, women's luncheons, etc. over the years, as it isn't a bad life-philosophy when you think about the whole of it.

God is love, that is the over all crowning truth of scripture, followed immediately by the fact that He loves us individually, not just as some collective lump of humanity.

And when all is said and done, no matter what has worked out well, or what has come crashing down around you, about all you can do, unless you are a quitter, is to "keep on truckin'."  It still makes me smile.

Hope it gave you a smile, too.  Have a good day. ...Marsha

P.S. Cartoonist R. Crumb is credited with originating the saying in the 1980's Keep On Truckin'.

10 comments:

  1. Marsha, I'm so glad you alerted me to this new post. I chuckled as I read your words. But your son was quite clever after all. And yes, he got it! That's the age of my first grade after school class.

    Blessings and love,
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh I love this...sounds just like our second born, who is now 25 and still keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering! Yes keep on truckin!
    Thanks for stopping by my blog. You meet our little cherry on the top, our youngest, and baking a blueberry pound cake. I am going to read more of your blog

    ReplyDelete
  3. Debbie - I really enjoy your stories abbut the little kids you work with each day!

    Janette, Nice to meet you and thanks for stopping by. Yep - my son is all grown up now - and sometimes he still makes me smile with the way he sees the world.

    blessings to you both - Marsha

    ReplyDelete
  4. Excellent advice - after what is a sure foundation - God is love and Jesus loves me. Out of the mouth of babes!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This was such fun to read. What a neat kid! We have one of those too, and now a couple of grandkids that have that same gene. The then 4 year old was driving down the highway with me one day and out of the blue said 'God's faithfulness endures forever!... Before I had a chance to say how right she was, she said... 'and Mimi... I know how to shake my bootie!'

    There's nothing quite like the honest exclamations of kids! :)

    I think your son got it just right.

    ReplyDelete
  6. An interesting story and a good end to a apprehensive visit. Kids do come out with some classics. As a teacher we used to have the saying for parents, "We will promise to forget what your kid tells us about you, if you promise to forget what he/she tells you about us.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love it! A great life philosophy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kids are so clear, aren't they! They just seem to get the simple and real things in life!

    What a great story!

    Thanks for sharing...

    Melanie

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh this is wonderful! I would have been so knocked out of my socks proud and AWED by such wisdom from a little guy! God is love, Jesus loves me, keep on truckin' - e.g. trustin' - there's no better formula for life!!!

    I have a little first grader that surprises with nuggets like this once in a while. One of my favorites was when she was talking about her favorite story, Sleeping Beauty, but her version was where the princess doesn't wake up until Jesus kisses her.

    ReplyDelete