Making Memories

This summer's session of Camp Fort Valley is in the books. By the grandparents' reckoning, it was a raging success, meaning we didn't lose a kid or visit an Emergency Room. We do have a little sleep to make up, but two days with my favorite three year old boy and six year old girl are well worth it. Next year, Bennett, my favorite one year old boy and the youngest of our grandkids, will hopefully be old enough to join the fun.

Summer Camp always means a trip to Pearson's for fresh peach ice cream and a couple of loops around the Blue Bird factory to check out the school buses. This year, we added an excursion to Mason Tractor Company in Perry, Georgia to the agenda. Alden, you see, is an absolute nut for anything with a motor and he is especially fond of any and all sorts of tractors. Hence, Mason and their plethora of beautiful orange Kubotas.

Upon walking into the dealership, I introduced ourselves and told the folks at the Service Department that we wouldn't be buying anything, but that we had a little dude who loved tractors and we just wanted to look at them up close. A young man quickly left his place at the counter and joined us.

"You wanna see these tractors?" he, kneeling to Alden's eye level, asked.

Alden nodded.

"Wanna sit on some?"

Another nod, joined by his older sister.

"Let's go!" the young man, a Mr. Eli Moody, exclaimed.

First up was a skid steer, a smallish machine with a front bucket. As you can see, they didn't like it at all.

Mr. Moody led us all over the lot, showing us big tractors with glass and air conditioning, all sorts of implements and utility vehicles, and a couple of excavators. He saved a small tractor for last. Alden climbed up and settled in the seat.

I'm pretty sure I know what the boy wants for Christmas.

Other duties demanded Mr. Moody's attention, so he bid us farewell. Shaking his hand, I told him I appreciated his time and interest, especially when he knew he wasn't going to make a sale.

"That's totally fine," he assured me. "We might not make a sale, but we can sure make a memory. Now that's even better."

I literally got teary-eyed at a tractor dealership. Mr. Moody deserves two gold stars and a nice bonus, if not a raise. Mason Tractor Company couldn't ask for a better representative.

And I couldn't ask for a better illustration of how the Church should relate to its children and youth. He took time. He bent down to Alden and Hazel's level. He showed interest in them, asking what they liked about the equipment and then letting them climb on the stuff and then answering their questions. He made them feel special.

Jesus, I think, would say what He often did in the Gospels - Go, and do likewise.

AMEN. And thank you, Mr. Moody and Mason Tractor Company!