Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. — Philippians 4.8
My Texas daughter and her family recently moved into a new home in the Piney Woods of East Texas. Behind the house is a good-sized section of undeveloped land, full of trees and bushes. When I was there this past New Years day, some of us put on our coats and took the three kids on a hike to explore what might be there.
We didn’t find anything more dangerous than the occasional briar or thistle. But when we had walked back far enough so that we could no longer see the house, my five year old grandson, Ben, asked his dad if there were any polar bears in the woods. His dad said, no, there are no polar bears in the woods. To which Ben replied, in his best Protector-of-the-Hearth voice, “Well if there were any polar bears, or even brown bears, I’d fight them.” And he put up his fists to show how serious his intentions were.
His four-year old sister, Eleanor, the family’s self-appointed Lover of the Arts, said in response, “And if there are any fancy girl bears who like to dance, I will dance with them.” Ben thought the idea of dancing bears in the deep, dark woods was silly and said so: “There aren’t any fancy girl bears who dance in the woods, Ellie.” To which Eleanor said matter of factly, “There are in my woods.”
To say that I am pleased at the support which my daughter and her husband give to their children to be creative would be an understatement. In Ben’s woods, there is ursine adventure and the opportunity for courage. In Ellie’s woods is always the possibility of an elegant ball and the chance to dance. And if you don’t like your sibling’s woods, well, you can make one of your own.
They have a TV in the house, but it’s not on very often. (And no one complains.) What they do have is a table in the dining room that is always stocked with paints and markers and paper and paste. (An abundance of the color pink is present for Princess You-Know-Who.) There’s glitter and stickers and crayons and play dough. And in the living room, the floor is regularly covered with Legos in the middle of which usually sits the family’s bear fighter making yet another starship. (He travels easily between worlds.) The kids have their own bookshelf and it is full, if not always tidy.
I don’t think my grandchildren are unique in having lively imaginations. (I am trying hard to set aside my own biases here.) Although their home life of a stay-at-home mom and limited television exposure probably is uncommon, they are not alone. Most kids, I think, are inventive if you create for them not only the freedom to be creative, and give them the tools to do so, but you give them the right things to think about, too.
Which brings to mind the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to train one’s mind to think about the right sort of things: Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable – think about these things, he said. That the world is full of the opposites goes without saying. Still, the lives which we and our families have are the ones we have created for us and them. What do you think about most often? What do your kids think about? What’s in your woods?
— KDS
Thoughts Along the Way 
