If the Miners are at church on a Sunday morning, and they almost always are, I can count on a good ending to church. No matter how lean the crowd or how scant the sermon, I can still rely upon a positive note at the close of our worship service, courtesy of one small member.

Brett and Stacey have a little three-year-old boy named Keagan. He and I have a ritual at church each Sunday. After worship is over, Brett goes to the nursery and retrieves Keagan. He’ll lead him through the hallway from the nursery to the sanctuary. As soon as Keagan gets within a few steps of the doorway, he starts running right to me. I bend over and pick him up, give him a lift up high in the air.

Sometimes, I’ll blow on his belly. Sometimes, I’ll swing him around a couple of times. Every now and then, I’ll lift him up and let him slide headfirst down my back. Holding his leg with one hand, I’ll reach the other around behind me and catch him by the shoulder, then pull him headfirst through my legs and lift him up again. Sometimes when I put him back down, he’ll reach up for another turn. Sometimes, he just runs back to his Daddy.

I’m not sure which one of us gets the most out of it but it seems to be pretty even. I know we both enjoy it. Any man who has at least one small child who looks forward to seeing him is a blessed man. And any child who has at least one adult that he can count on for enthusiastic affection is not without hope in this world. Keagan has a lot more than that going for him.

I just hope that he gets too big for me to pick up before he quits wanting me to.

H. Arnett
7/15/13