Baby Bob

(Note: the names are changed in this story)

Last summer at Church, Marisol comes running up to me and says, “Baby Bob is the grill and won’t come out.  You gotta deal with this.”  First off, I don’t know who Baby Bob is, how he got in the grill, or how in the world I’m going to get him out, and FYI, he’s not a baby but is five.  The grill is about 2 by 4 by 10 feet.  I go over, dreading the impending interaction and doubting my ability to negotiate with an obviously disturbed child.  Someone, I get him to come out, he eats dinner, and he’s sent home because he can’t handle being at Church. A few weeks later, he shows up again, and I immediately talk with him about the grill, and he plays for a bit but winds up back in there.  The same thing happens: I get him out, he eats, and we send him home early. 

But then something begins to happen with Baby Bob.  All summer he’s with us at Kid’s Club and by the end of the summer, he comes to Church and makes it through the night. Throughout the fall and winter, he never again hides in the grill.  He keeps coming to Church throughout the year and is getting bigger and better able to control himself.  But when March of this year rolls around, I’m told by his cousins that he and his two older brothers have moved to Yakima with their dad and they won’t be around.  When I found out, I was sad, but like I often do, I pushed it to the back of my mind. 

This summer, we had normal Kid’s Clubs and I didn’t think much about Bob and his brothers, but on July 5^th, guess who’s there?!? Veronica drops off a bus load of kids and Baby Bob and his brother run up to me, say Hi and I give them big hugs and catch up for a bit.  It turns out they were in White Swan visiting their grandfather for the 4^th of July holiday.  I was so excited to see them again and have them at Kid’s Club, but I had to proceed with the regular Kid’s Club routine.  At some point, Baby Bob asks me if he can be in my skit, and I think for a second, remembering some of his past troubles, and rationalize that it’s ok because they are only there for that day.  Baby Bob winds up doing a great job in the Daniel In the Lion’s Den skit, I give him and his brother a farewell hug and I haven’t’ seen them again at Kid’s Club the rest of the summer. 

Later that weekend, I began to reflect on Baby Bob and remembered how wild he had been only 13 months ago, and I was blown away by how God uses the simple things of games, love, relationships, and consistency to change a little boy and bring him closer to being part of God’s family. It's the same for all of us in our walk with God: we are doing things that are ridiculous, alienating, and dangerous but we can't see or change until God reaches in and lovingly draws us to Himself.  Please keep Baby Bob, his brothers and the kids of White Swan in your prayers.  Grace and Peace!