“and a little child shall lead them…”

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all. – Isaiah 11:6

I know some of you come to this page for the writing… and then some of you show up for the photography. Well, I’ve got to tell you, today is a photo day and then some!

In fact, there’s so much to share that I think I’m going to have to spread this out over two posts:

First, the birthday, all promise and imagination… And then, the park. The Maymont Park images turned out to be so cool it’s going to be hard to wait another whole day to share.

David Turns Five:

Having the grandkids just a couple of hours up the road is a tremendous blessing. So Sunday, right after Rebekah finished church officer training at WFPC, we zoom-zoomed our way to Richmond to share a birthday party with a very happy little boy.

There were several gifts, there were some good friends on hand to share the occasion, and every single birthday present was gratefully and graciously received (David’s parents have done a tremendous job teaching him to say thank you) – but when all the noise was over and the dust settled, it’s obvious that nothing else mattered quite so much as one particular gift: this was the birthday of the Disney Monorail!

The Campbell family have been going to Disney World for several years, and David has been enchanted by the monorail the entire time. Not just the actual monorail they ride into and around the Magic Kingdom, but the one in the store; he’s been ogling the perfectly designed, exact to scale, super-cool play set off and on since his second birthday!

And, yes, there was the soccer ball from Grandaddy, and I’m thrilled with the poise and natural coordination he demonstrated when we kicked the ball around outside for a few minutes (well, until he went down with his first soccer injury!). And there were bubbles for everyone – a “full-contact” activity that especially excites Beks. And there were new books, and science experiment kits, and dinosaurs, and Naomi’s amazing Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake…

But, without even a second thought, this is definitely the birthday of the monorail. And David’s daddy, Craig, is almost as excited about it as the birthday boy himself!

A Little Faith & Thinkology:

Once again, David has fallen for something that captures and engages his imagination and his creativity. Seriously, the child is an engineer (and I don’t mean the person who simply drives the train, I mean the innovative mind that invents and designs the next one).

Sure it’s fun to put on the “railwayman” hat and sit behind the wheel once in a while. But David is more interested in how it all goes together, what makes it work, how to design the layout, how to improve the concept, and what possibilities come into play when you look at all the details.

You see, watching my grandson gives me hope for the future. It’s not just that God created, it’s that God is creating. Things could go either way in this country, on this planet, over the next couple of decades – and they will likely go both ways at the same time – but it’s because of children like David (and his “force-of-nature” sister, Beks) that I am confident that the balance can be tipped to the good.

Because it’s not enough for people of faith to believe, or to pray, or to encourage one-another in the beautiful experience of community we know as The Church… it is incumbent on us to do something, to apply our gifts, our good news, and our indomitable courage to be the change we want to see.

Five years old… before I know it he’ll be out there changing the world. Oh, wait a minute! I believe that he already is.

– (Grandaddy) DEREK

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.
The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion,
and a little child will lead them all. – Isaiah 11:6