Recently at Benedictine College’s Homecoming there was a large blow up slide approximately 20 feet high for kids. My oldest grandson Henry found going up the slide a fun challenge. He asked if I could tie his blanket around him as a cape so he could be Superboy. Love the imagination!
I watched Henry climb to the top and look over the other side which was pretty much straight down to a soft cushion on the bottom. It suddenly occurred to me he might consider jumping. Uh Oh! I ran to the other side and found him on the bottom cushion just after he landed. I picked him up and he was sobbing. After calming him down a bit, he kept repeating, “Superboy didn’t work.” Sob. “Superboy didn’t work.” Sob.
Digging into this further, I learned that Henry indeed jumped off the edge of the “ladder” side of the slide confident that his Superboy cape would provide him with super powers — i.e., the ability to fly. He was crushed and devastated that no superpowers were invoked. Just a free fall.
Reflecting on this scene and outcome, I admired Henry’s strong faith and belief. He totally believed that his “superboy” blanket / cape would work. And he jumped to prove it. What an example of faith!!
And I reflected, Henry’s faith and belief was in something man-made, something humanly created. And it did not work.
The lesson for all of us superboys and supergirls out there … have great faith AND put your faith into things not of this world.
Comments on this entry are closed.