According to Webster, the number one meaning for the word cousin is the child of one's aunt or uncle. When asked to draw a picture of something beautiful they saw in the campout we were just completing, the littlest of the group drew five stick figures. One of the figures was the dog, and I assume the others were her two sisters and her two cousins. She added this explanation to her picture. "My cousins visitid [sic] me."
She could have selected to draw snow-covered Mount Rainier or forested unknown-name mountains. She could have drawn Tall trees looming over our camp site or nearby rivers or creeks of abundant flowing water. Butterflies or birds or chipmunks or caterpillars might have graced her page of artwork. Looking down on steep canyons as we rode up...up...up to Paradise or having a snowball fight when she was supposed to be eating lunch could have been her artistic choice. Even the swinging, cable bridge was one sister's choice of subject matter.
But this six-year-old grandchild chose the subject that kept me most enthralled with the wonderment of family on this occasion -- watching cousins interact and play and sing and pretend and chatter and make s'mores. I was mindful of my own youth and cousin Jan, many years and miles from this place. There were no trees to speak of and even tap water was scarce in the tiny West Texas town where our family reunion was held. However, as children, we just enjoyed the pleasure of each other's company...feeling the bond of kinship.
Cousin is such an important relationship that even the Bible sets the stage for the coming Messiah when pregnant Mary visits her pregnant cousin Elizabeth. Later, of course, John announced, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!" How befitting it is that Christ's cousin was the herald of such great news.
I delighted in watching five girls interact and romp and spontaneously follow Papa John on his walk. And I wonder to myself, "Will the boychild cousin, due in the near future, change the dynamics of this love shown?"
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
When asked "What would you consider to be your "lifetime scripture?", I flippantly answered I Thessalonians 4:11 because that was the first one I learned as a child. However, the scripture I would most like to be remembered by is Colossians 3:17: "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." (NAS)
No comments:
Post a Comment