An eight-year-old girl was getting some outdoor pictures made among the fall colors in a Nashville park one Sunday afternoon, when a lone jogger emerged from one of the running trails that snaked alongside. The runner, a young woman dressed in navy blue sweats and a zip-up jacket, slowed to a gentle stop, fumbled her earbuds loose, leaving them to dangle from around her neck and shoulders. Just kind of stood there. Watching. The photographer, becoming aware of the woman’s presence, looked up from her camera for a moment, long enough to give a quick glance of polite but dismissive acknowledgement. We’re working here.
Then suddenly, stunned recognition passed across the photographer’s face, as well as the faces of the little girls’ parents and family who were standing nearby. Noticing how everyone’s stares were now focused on something behind her, with their mouths all slightly agape, the little girl, too, turned to see what was causing the interruption.
Now she began staring as well. Breathing harder. Speechless. This obviously wasn’t just some casual weekend runner bouncing along.
It was pop music star Taylor Swift.[1]
Seeing everyone sufficiently flatfooted, the young singer smiled and skipped down the uneven stone stairs into the grass, approaching the little girl. “Hi. Okay if I get my picture made with you?”
No words from the little girl. Just a broad smile and nervous, exaggerated nodding.
The photographer instantly started snapping extra frames, hurrying to capture the moment, while the multi-award-winning singer/songwriter—whose face and image appear regularly, almost daily, on glossy magazine covers and other media spaces the world over—hung around for a while to see if she could help out with the girl’s photo shoot.
“Try this.” “Now stand this way.” “No, more like this,” she’d say, striking the desired pose and facial expression for the girl to copy. They laughed, chitchatted, everybody soaking up their surprise brush with celebrity on an otherwise ordinary day. Then with a wave and a quick goodbye, the “Shake It Off” singer was dashing off for the rest of her run, while the young girl and her parents looked around at each other—smiling, then squealing, their heartbeats slowly beginning to regulate.
“You do know who that was, don’t you?” the photographer asked her.
Again, no words. Just both-hands-over-her-mouth amazement.
Oh my goodness. That was Taylor Swift.
Now if I were guessing, I’d say this little eight-year-old girl had probably already been a Taylor Swift fan. If not a big fan, she at least was well aware of her and knew a sizable number of interesting facts about her. She’d read things about her. She’d heard things about her. And even if she hadn’t been someone in the habit of buying Taylor Swift records up till that point in her life—in whatever way kids “buy records” anymore—I’m guessing that she’s probably bought every “record” of hers ever since. This little girl now is, as they say—“bought in.”
And that’s what we all want to happen with our children as we seek to introduce them more intimately to the One whose words and ways are substantially more valuable than those of any pop star or movie star or sports star or any other star enjoying their moment in the sun within today’s cultural galaxy.
We want our kids to know Jesus Christ.
- Who is He?
- Is He real?
- Why did He come?
- What has He done for us?
- Why do we need Him so much?
- Is He really who He claims to be?
And if He truly is who He claims to be, wouldn’t we be foolish not to want to investigate Him, to learn everything we can possibly learn about Him, to listen again and again to what He has to say . . . until His Word becomes second nature to us, in our minds, on our lips . . . until we’re humming those words not only through the house but repeatedly through the day? Wouldn’t we want to be followers of Someone who can do what He does, who’s done what He’s done, and who will continually be doing things in our lives that we can be worshipping Him and thanking Him for, now and throughout all eternity?
This leads me to say again: This “plan” we’ve been discussing and desiring is not just a plan. This “process” we’ve been learning is not just a process. This is a sea-change opportunity for us to lead our families—in whatever way His Spirit leads us—so that we and our children can come to know Jesus Christ in the most personal, all-the-time, as-you-go, totally immersed way possible.
And while part of this plan and process, by its nature, will always feature some kind of ongoing, set-aside moments of prayer, Bible study, worship, and spiritual dialogue, we should never underestimate the power of strategic, creative, momentum-building moments, when we’re able to make this relationship with Him come fully alive. For the whole family.
From the establishment of new traditions, to the scrapping of unnecessary old ones, to the making of fresh memories, to the exciting opportunities when our families can serve others together—we are perfectly positioned as parents to help enhance in our kids what knowing Christ can really mean.
Because, hey, Taylor Swift may be a big star. Good for her. And how nice of her to pop in on a little girl like that, unawares, completely making a whole family’s day. But Jesus not only created all the Taylor Swifts of the world. He also created, uh . . . the world. And the sun. And the stars.
What kid shouldn’t love meeting Him?
[1] “Taylor Swift surprises fans, photobombs Nashville park portraits,” www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2014/11/08/taylor-swift-surprises-fans-photobombs-park-portraits/18718813
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