There's Something About That Name

It's Mama! It's Daddy!
Water... Call... Papa... Call... Grammy... Nanna... Bu-berry ("blueberry")... Sit...
Minnie? Elmo? Minnie? 
(dance break)
Toast... Cow... Toes... Brudder ("brother")... Joe ("Joel")... Bee-bo ("belly button")... Bite...  
It's Mama! It's Mia! It's Daddy! 
Cheer ("chair")... Mouth... Duck... Bath... Nose... Lellow ("yellow")... Pino ("piano")... 
Elmo? Water? Elmo? Elmo?
It's Daddy! It's Manny ("Madelyn")! Whoa! Cool! WOW!
Bible... Night Night... Airplane... Ow-side... Walk... Saw ("sock")... Shoe...
Go? Go? Go!

And on and on and on—all.day.long. The above monologue was literally everything that just spewed out of her mouth within a matter of 10 minutes. She just talks and talks and talks. (I wonder where she gets it from.) 😏

I really don't mind it. In fact, I love it—except when I'm trying to talk to someone else and not paying full attention to her. Then she puts her requests/demands on repeat, slapping my arm to make sure I hear her above all else. And the sound escalates: "water. wAtEr. WaTeR. WATER. WATER! WATER!!!"

Today, though, in the midst of the never-ending toddler chatter, when my heart was the heaviest for Baby Joel, when I was praying for the presence of Jesus to be near, when I was asking Him to intervene, He showed up in a way I wasn't expecting.

Since Madelyn was a newborn, I've sang to her while we rocked right before nap time. Along the way, I've peppered in different songs, but always started off with one particular song: "There's Something About That Name." I'm not sure why I picked this one. Maybe it's because I grew up on old hymns and gospel songs.

Today, as we sat down to rock, for the first time ever, she grabbed my face between her chubby little hands and said, "Mama. Ting. Cheezus."

I had no clue what this kid was trying to tell me. But in true Madelyn fashion, she repeated it again and again, "Mama. Ting. Cheezus. Mama. Ting. Cheezus."

Then, the translation hit me: "Mama. Sing. Jesus."

Tears filled my eyes. My heart overflowed. She knew what we both needed in that moment. We needed Jesus. We needed to worship Him through our song. And so, as she laid her head down on my shoulder, I sang:

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

There's just something about that name

Master, Savior, Jesus

Like the fragrance after the rain

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

Let all heaven and earth proclaim

Kings and kingdoms will all pass away

But there's something about that name

Who knew that Jesus could use my little 18-month-old to minister to my heart in such a profound way today? And it must have touched our sweet Joel too—because as soon as I started in on the first note, he began kicking away.

Thank you, Jesus, for my little chatterbox.