This week I am so excited to welcome my brother-in-law and friend, Landon Brown, to Once Upon a Writer. Landon is an amazing father of three, and when I first read his account of my nephew, Garrett, and his dragon fighting adventures, I knew it was a story of whimsy and wisdom…a story I couldn’t wait to share with you.
~ Written by Landon Brown ~
“Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.” C.S. Lewis
I caught a glimpse of skin, stripes, and shiny plastic as I turned from the kitchen towards the living room.
It was 9:00 pm on a Saturday, traditionally a day to gather up the pieces of family life dropped along the path of the week. This Saturday, however, found our family scattered to the four corners of our world with Melanie away at a conference and my two oldest children with friends.
I almost missed it as my mind registered the scene of my seven-year-old son and his nine-year-old best friend.
The call of adventure woke these boys at 7:30 am and they…
Rode bikes through a battlefield fighting the enemy with a Nerf gun…
Scorched the putt-putt course and won a pair of swords…
Broke the swords in a dual…
Ran from an imaginary villain through the Monkey Joe obstacle course…
Fought WW2 after they got home…
Built a fort using blankets, and pillows, and chairs…
All while making those shooting and sword fight noises only boys can make. Now (whew!!!), they were home and not far from bedtime.
It was what I didn’t see as I entered the living room that made the day worth remembering and cherishing…
I didn’t see the band of pirates chasing these “scalawags…”
I didn’t see the ocean teeming with hungry sharks and giant tentacled octopi (cool word) that dared them to teeter off the ship (couch) and fall into waiting jaws…
I didn’t notice the helpless princess they were protecting and trying to rescue…
Nor did I see these things for most of that tiring Saturday.
I almost missed it. I almost saw nothing but a messy living room, and I almost got upset to find two broken swords scattered on the floor. But something (the Holy Spirit) reminded me that this make-believe world in the minds of these boys was given to them by God.
One day these two “warriors” will grow up to be men…protectors and providers. Families will look to them to fight the enemy of their souls with no less energy and determination.
So let them fight.
Let their imaginary battles rage on, and let them dream of rescue. Let them imagine enemies, and castles, and sword fights. Victory and defeat.
Because the enemies will one day come, and they will be real, and the stakes will be high.
Let’s teach them about The Lord of Angel Armies, who warns us of the ultimate enemy, who fights our battles for us, who rescues us from peril. Let’s teach them about miraculous victories and impossible odds overcome by His power and might. Let’s teach them about the final victory of Jesus over His enemies and of the final restored kingdom of God on this earth.
Tell them stories…don’t lose the opportunity while their imaginations soar.
Tell them God’s story.
Give them hope.
And, dads…remind yourself of these things often. May God grant all of us eyes of faith that we may wonder at the things we cannot see.