THE (IM)PERFECTION OF SIX

 


Two weeks ago I published DEAR DIARY, a reflection on the diary entries for 27 September going back 9 years, starting in 2015.  Today is 27 September 2024, and at 07:07 this morning, my precious, PERFECT & precocious Micah is exactly 6 years old.  On this day six years ago, I was wide awake by 01:30 and decided to get up and bake cupcakes while I wait for the good news and that first picture of my first grandbaby.  At 07:39 my goofy firstborn son, Daniel, sent me a picture of the left hand of his newborn son making the Star Trek Vulcan sign for LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.  Truth be told, I had to look it up as I am neither a Trekkie fan nor do I believe that any created being can determine the longevity and prosperity of another.  But I have come to cherish that cute hand picture, and for this reflection today, I took another hand picture of the same little hand, now 6 years later.


In mathematics, the number 6 is considered to be a PERFECT number as it is the sum of all (excluding itself) its divisors 1, 2 and 3.  However in the Bible, the number 7 represents PERFECTION, and 6, which falls short, represents IMPERFECTION.  This contradictory representation of the number 6 so beautifully encompass all the elements of today - the IMPERFECT birthday of a PERFECT little boy.  


Micah arrived yesterday for a sleepover with Nana & OupaAssie, and as always, he engages us with his unique, adorable nature.  His whack and wisdom.  His care and compassion.  His love and laughter.  His insight and intelligence.  His wit and wonder.  His charm and charisma.  His excitement and eloquence.  His seriousness and silliness.  His passion and pain.  His tears and fears.  Here are 6 pearls of Micah wisdom which I collected during this birthday sleepover:


# 1 : YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW  

The leaves of the Spekboom are edible, but it is sour.

# 2 : YOU AGE ONLY ON YOUR BIRTHDAY  

Yesterday Micah was 5 and today he is 6.  Aunty Jess told Micah that Nana is 52, but after Jess left, Micah ran to me and announced, “Nana, you are still 51, because your birthday is only next month and then you will be 52.”

# 3 : THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES IN LEGOLAND 

We played Lego.  I was Maggie, the Lego parts store assistant, who had to source and sell Micah the required parts to build his space rocket, complete with thrusters and lever switches.  Very little imagination was necessary to appreciate Micah’s impressive engineering masterpiece consisting only of basic Lego pieces, no pre-designed space rocket parts.  At least Maggie’s pitiful little open air square floor area store with only a single (back) wall and rudimentary furnishings enjoyed the full benefits of Legoland’s utopia where the sun always shines.

# 4 : WEIGHTLOSS IS SIMPLE  

Micah built us a fort with a large umbrella behind the couch and when I apologised for being too fat to crawl into the impossibly small space, he looked at me and the following conversation took place between us:                        

Micah: You know Nana, you should eat raw onion to lose weight.                                  

Nana: How do you know that, where did you learn that?                                                  

Micah: I watched a video on my tablet in….what is the month before September?       

Nana: August.                                                                                                                            

Micah: Yes, in August I watched that video and I learned it there.                        

(Meanwhile, a curious and entertained almost-term-pregnant aunty Jess Googled Micah’s statement on her phone, and to her surprise, she found out that it is indeed true that raw onion contains specific properties to combat belly fat.)

# 5 : DON’T BLINK OR YOU’LL MISS OUT, TIME WAITS FOR NOBODY  

Before this sleepover visit, Micah’s pictures mostly consisted of single items in no more than two different colours and it only partially covered the page.  This time he used the entire page to draw multiple items in multiple colours and he even wrote NANA (in red) at the very top without any help.  He then went on to, independently, write I LOVE YOU ANNIE AND NANA on a separate page, using his own creative interpretation of spelling.  I blinked and now my Micah Munchkin is going to big school….what happened?

# 6 : THERE WILL ALWAYS BE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS TO WHICH WE DO NOT HAVE ANSWERS IN THIS IMPERFECT WORLD  

“Nana, why did my mommy Carli have to die?  I miss her so much!”  “I don’t know why my sweetheart, but she loved you more than you will ever know.  I also miss her so much and I wish that she could see you now, because she would be so proud of you!”


Oh Lord, thank You so very much for the indescribable blessing our darling Micah is to us.  Thank You for his tender heart and his brilliant mind.  Thank You for 6 amazing years with him and that he so beautifully reflects Your PERFECTION.  Please help us to show Micah how to fix his eyes on and place his hope in Jesus?  Please help us to navigate with God-fearing faithfulness through the piercing pain, hopeless heartache and fear of the future in this broken world of IMPERFECTION?  Thank You for Your PERFECT love.  Amen.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAREST MICAH, YOU ARE 6 YEARS OLD!





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