Both Isaac and Andrew were surprised Christmas morning with brand-new bicycles.  Isaac, being a bit older, had outgrown his other bike, but this was Andrew’s first one.  They both beamed with joy and excitement.

As we continued to open presents, we realized that all of the toys were intended to be played with outdoors.  And here on Christmas Day, it was rainy and cold, not exactly weather conducive to play.  Since both boys had a bad case of pinkeye and were battling a snotty nose, I was reluctant to allow them to play outside.  Before I could decide what to do, my husband suggested that they ride their bikes in the house.

We have an open layout of our living area.  I guess you would call it a great room.  Traffic moves easily from the kitchen to living room to dining room.  I just did not foresee an actual road, but the boys saw it immediately.  Andrew, who was just learning to pedal and steer, rode very cautiously and slowly around the circular “road.”  Isaac, on the other hand, was skillfully navigating the course even “off-roading” around our dining table.  Isaac was leaving behind him a trail of black smudges on my tile floor as he literally fish-tailed on the turns.

They say that once you learn how to ride a bike that you never forget.  I still remember teaching Clayton, Kyla, and Jake how to ride without training wheels.  Some kids catch on almost immediately.  Some need much more practice and encouragement.  I was planning on teaching the younger two boys also when they showed interest in learning.

To my surprise, Isaac came running into the kitchen.  “Mom, come outside.  I’ve got something to show you.”

The training wheels were laying on the driveway.  Kyla was holding the back of the bicycle seat.  She ran a few steps and let go.  Isaac rode down the driveway and back without falling.  He even applied the brakes correctly.  I was impressed.  I was impressed that he was such a natural at riding a bike.  But I was mainly impressed with the way that Kyla took it upon herself to teach her brother.

I stood on the driveway watching as she encouraged him with sweet words.  I witnessed her patient instruction to teach him to start a ride without help.  I watched as his smile beamed up to her face with silent expressions of love and gratitude.  What an absolute joy to behold!

Isaac did not learn to ride a bike without training wheels on Christmas Day, but I still consider it one of my best Christmas gifts.  Children are a blessing from God.  When you get to witness their love and grace to one another, it is a blessing to the power of x.  What x equals is up to you, but it is exceedingly abundant.  I hope that each of you gets to experience this and that you will treasure it like Mary, who “treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

This entry was posted on Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 11:09 am and is filed under For Women, Homeschooling, Homesteading. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.