Out of the Mouth of Babes

Growing Daily

Out of the Mouth of Babes

When my daughter was just a toddler, she received a board book about Jonah. We cuddled up to read it together before bedtime. By the second page—sailors tossing Jonah into the sea—I was wondering why in the world I was reading this book to a two-year-old. I actually dreaded turning the page.  But should I stop reading a story from God’s Word to my child? That didn’t seem like a solid child-rearing precedent. I gulped and turned the page in faith.

There was a colorful cutaway view of a large fish swimming along—with Jonah improbably seated cross-legged inside. Callie took it in and said simply, “Oh look, Jonah is riding in time out.”

I blinked. “Yep. That’s right.” It was all I could add to that amazing insight.

Callie and I both learned something that day. She learned that God sometimes uses a temporary “time out” to correct His children (Hebrews 12:6; Lamentations 3:31–33). I learned that God’s Word always accomplishes what He intends it to accomplish (Isaiah 55:11). His Spirit illuminates truth beyond mere human understanding (John 16:13). If I faithfully open His Word, I can trust Him to do the work (1 Corinthians 3:6).


- Catherine Reid