By Linda Porter Carlyle
Trevor Paul Monroe stared out the big window in the living room. He stood so close to the window that his breath fogged up the glass, so he moved a little farther to the right. Where was Grandpa?
Trevor huffed on the glass a couple of times to fog it up on purpose. Then he printed his name on the window. Suddenly he saw Grandpa’s car turn into the driveway. “He’s here!” he shouted to Mom. “Grandpa’s here!”
“Bye!” Mom called from the kitchen. “Have fun! Be good!”
Trevor slammed the front door and ran down the sidewalk. “Hi, Grandpa!” he shouted. He opened the car door and slid in.
“How’s my favorite grandson?” Grandpa asked, backing the car out onto the street.
“Am I really your favorite grandson?” Trevor asked as he buckled his seat belt.
“Of course, you are!” Grandpa answered with a grin. “Every one of my grandsons is my favorite!”
Trevor grinned back. He settled himself in the seat and looked out the window.
“What a beautiful day!” Grandpa exclaimed. “I love the flowering trees and the tulips this time of year.”
“So does Mom,” Trevor said. “But she likes roses best. She can hardly wait for all her roses to bloom. How come you’re taking me to the toy store? It’s not my birthday yet.”
“Is there a rule that says I can take my favorite grandson to the toy store only on his birthday?” Grandpa asked. “I’ve never heard of a rule like that.”
“I guess not,” Trevor said. “What are you going to buy me?”
“You may pick out anything you’d like,” Grandpa answered. “Unless it’s something terribly expensive—like a go-cart, or a bicycle. Something that costs that much money is definitely not in my budget today.”
Trevor’s stomach tightened with excitement. Anything he wanted! This was going to be fun!
It didn’t take long to drive to the toy store. Grandpa found a place to park and turned off the motor. “Wait for me,” he said as Trevor jumped out of the car. “You can’t just run across parking lots without paying attention.”
Trevor and Grandpa walked slowly together down the first aisle of the huge store. Games. A whole lot of games lined the aisle. Trevor stopped and looked at the colorful boxes. Maybe he should get a game. He liked games. “Do you think I should get a game, Grandpa?” he asked.
“Games are always fun to have,” Grandpa answered.
Trevor hesitated. He should probably look some more before he made up his mind.
Balls. There were balls of every description on the next aisle. Baseballs, tennis balls, soccer balls, footballs, Ping-Pong balls, basketballs. “Do you think I should get a new basketball, Grandpa?” Trevor asked.
“A new basketball would be very nice,” Grandpa answered with a twinkle in his eye.
The third aisle was full of toy cars. Trevor walked very, very slowly. He saw everything from big, yellow plastic dump trucks for toddlers to remote-controlled cars. “It would be a lot of fun to have a remote-controlled car!” Trevor exclaimed.
“I’m sure that’s true,” Grandpa agreed.
“Do you know what Brad did once with his remote control car?” Trevor laughed. “Mrs. King was taking a walk, and Brad hid in the bushes with his remote control, and he made his car follow her down the sidewalk. Mrs. King looked all around and couldn’t figure out how come the car was following her!”
Grandpa laughed too.
Building stuff. Wooden blocks, Duplos®, Legos®, Lincoln Logs®, and Tinker Toys® lined both sides of another aisle. Trevor stopped walking and thought for a minute. He had lots of Legos® already, but he could always use more.
The next aisle had art supplies. Fat tablets of newsprint. Extra-large pads of pure white drawing paper. Boxes of watercolors, felt pens, finger paints, crayons, and colored pencils. Trevor paused. He loved to draw. Maybe he should get a fine set of colored pencils. He looked up at Grandpa. “It’s too hard to pick!” he wailed. “What if I decide to get colored pencils, and then when I get home I wish I had picked a remote-controlled car or something?”
Grandpa squatted down beside Trevor. “I’m glad you’re trying to make a good choice,” he said. “You should always try to make good, thoughtful choices. But don’t be too worried about what to pick out today. It’s not a life-or-death decision. It’s not like the most important decision that you’ve already made.”
Trevor’s forehead wrinkled with a puzzled frown. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“You’ve already decided that God has first place in your life,” Grandpa explained. “Now that’s an important decision. It’s the most important decision of all!”
Trevor’s frown disappeared. “I decided that a long time ago!” he said. He grabbed Grandpa’s hand. “Let’s go back and look at the balls again.”
