My kindergarten grandson, Zane, asked me to guess what he wants to be when he grows up. He gave me a hint. He said, “It’s a four-letter word that begins with sh.” I could have guessed all day long, and not guessed chef. It was in that moment I remembered something I had long forgotten, and told him that when I was his age, I wanted to grow up and be a puppet maker.
Zane didn’t see it as a foolish idea. Nor did he see me as too old to try. He simply looked at me and said, “Then do it!”
Over the next few days, I started envisioning puppets, one that looked like me, one that looked like him, and others that looked like my other grandchildren. I needed to try to show him, and myself, that it is never too late to pursue your dreams.
Wolfie is my second puppet build. He was made to look like Zane, who inspired me to pursue this childhood dream.
Upon seeing his puppet for the first time, he grabbed it and gave it a big hug…then hugged me big too.. I’m not sure which of us was the happiest.
Zane’s puppet has a notepad in one hand and a pencil in the other. This is because Zane is pictured on the front of the VBS curriculum as a Good News Reporter. There are ten skits included in the curriculum. The characters: a grandma who loves telling her grandchildren about Jesus; her grandson, Wolfie, who wants to someday be a news reporter—one that only reports good news; and Macy Girl, Wolfie’s little sister.
I’m still unsure where this puppet thing is going, but God is clearly showing me that he plans to do something good with them. The Lord is providing confirming words; this is true.
Just the other night, I had a dream in which I was pregnant. I can hear you gasping. Launching something new, whether it is a new book or a new puppet addition to your ministry, is ike giving birth. New ventures begin with a seed of an idea, it grows, and then it morphs into a labor of love. The end joy is seeing the “baby” come to life.
In my dream, I went to see a doctor. He said, “the baby could arrive in a week.” Could indicates a possibility. My baby could arrive sooner or later than expected.I looked to the calendar on the wall in the doctor’s office and saw that one week out would be December 25th, the date we celebrate the birth of Jesus. This was an indicator that the dream wasn’t about the date, but about the person born on that date, Immanuel, God with us.
This is going to be fun!!
(Check out Zane’s first puppet video by click here.)