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Our 9-pounds-with-a-90-pound-attitude cat, Dusty, came home from the vet on Tuesday, sporting a bright green splint.
Oh, how I wish she could speak my language!
I want to explain to her what happened: she dislocated a bone.
Why I did what I did: allowed the vet to anesthetize, Xray, and cast her so she’ll heal.
Why I’m doing what I’m doing: keeping her confined to the laundry room.
But she doesn’t speak my language. So I’m speaking hers: Holding her. Petting her.
She understands holding and petting. If only she understood more!
When a baby is learning to talk, how much “grown-up language” does she understand? Not much.
How much “baby talk” do her parents understand? A whole lot!
In Annemarie’s baby book, I recorded hundreds of “translations” from her “baby talk” to “grown-up language.”
“Gaggie” meant “blankie.”
Oh, I spoke her language well!
Grown-Up Language
Annemarie just turned 21. She hasn’t used words like “gaggie” or “gunk” for years. In fact, I’m constantly giving her props for using wonderful words in everyday conversation.
Why am I daily thrilled by her extensive vocabulary?
True, as her verbal skills expanded, Annemarie expressed herself more precisely. But I didn’t need her to speak my language in order to understand her.
When she was little, it was Annemarie who needed to learn my language so she could understand me.
I had so much I wanted to tell her about myself! So much I knew she would understand better if only she could speak my language!
“Grown-up language” allows breadth, depth, and nuance impossible with baby talk.
When first I saw Deb Roy’s TED talk The Birth of a Word, I was deeply moved by the precious one-minute “time lapse audio” segment of a child learning his first word.
Each time I’ve played this segment at a women’s retreat, the audience reacts the same way during the clip: listening in rapt attention, leaning forward as if to coax the child along somehow, smiling at each other as “baby talk” gives way to “grown up language.”
And responses at the end are always the same: We burst out in spontaneous applause and celebration! Yes, he nailed it!
Is this is how God sees me as I am learning His Word?
Listening, leaning forward, cheering as I “nail it”?
Now He can tell me so much more about Himself!
Now I will understand Him so much better!
A One-Way Language Barrier
God allows nothing – not even my failure to grow up and leave baby talk behind – stand in the way of His love to me.
He's always stooped to speak my language, my “baby talk.”
But limited by baby talk, I’ve misunderstand Him much of my life.
I’ve been miserable and mad, blaming Him for “doing this to me.”
While He was longing to tell me all about Himself!
About what’s happened.
Why He’s done what He’s done.
Why He’s doing what He’s doing.
Always, He's held me and comforted me, wishing “If only she understood more!”
When I was a child, I memorized scripture for two reasons: recognition and prizes. Oh, how I loved my rows of gold stickers! And my Oriental Trading Company “Jesus junk”!
When I got older, nobody offered me gold stickers. My motivation gone, I stuck with “baby talk”: My thoughts. My feelings. My perceptions. My way. Oh, My. Me. My!
But now that I’m immersing myself in God’s Word as the way out of my self, I’m discovering that it’s the vocabulary for His “grown up” language!
The more I nail it, the less constrained we are by mere “baby talk”!
The more I learn His word, the more He reveals Himself, and the better I understand Him!
The more I conversational I become in His Word, the less miserable and mad I am.
The better I’m understanding what’s happened.
Why He’s done what He’s done.
Why He’s doing what He’s doing.
And the more I’m experiencing the breadth, depth, and nuance of his limitless love!
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To enter today’s drawing, leave a comment
- responding to today’s blog, and/or
- sharing your Day #1-12 experience of replacing “baditude” with God’s word and gratitude, and/or
- about anything else on your heart!
Drawing winners 6-10 will be announced soon!
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(Catch up on any "Warm-Up Week" Blog Posts!)
