THE BEST DAYS
She calls me Nik, and I call her Bug and the mornings she arrives at my doorstep are the best days of my life.
“What do you want to do today, Bug?” I ask.
“PLAY! PLAY! PLAY!” she replies because all she wants is to enjoy her world with me sitting close.
And I say, “OK!” because all I want is to sit close and be part of that world.
She dumps out the Barbies who have arrived dressed for the beach. I choose a blonde with a pink sundress and try to fit in. “Hello there, kids!” I say to the others, “Want to go to the beach?”
“No! Talk like this,” Bug corrects me. “Want to go to the beach, little ones?” She demonstrates by lifting her voice ten octaves higher.
“Want to go to the beach, little ones?” I squeak because I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.
We proceed to pack, gathering up every single crumb of plastic ever manufactured when Bug discovers something’s missing.
“Hey, Nik! Where’s Barbie’s car?”
I have no good answer -no easy way to tell her that I threw it away. It was only a makeshift car made from a tissue box, but it was Barbie’s sole mode of transportation. Too late, I recall, this girl doesn’t forget a thing. “Hmm, maybe we can make another?”
So we take a detour to the basement to see what we can find. “We need a light up there, Nik,” she suggests, pointing above the dark steps. I nod and wonder, “When did she become the boss?” Yet I make a mental note to call an electrician because I am prone to consider every one of her wishes. I am that head-over-heels, crazy-in-love with this child.
While she searches for a suitable replacement vehicle, I quietly study her face. What a masterpiece God has fashioned from flesh, bone, and curls!
"Nik!” she scolds when she catches me staring.
I know I exasperate her, so I kneel down to try to explain myself -why I do what I do because she means the world to me.
She responds without a word, grabs my cheeks, pulls me close, and presses her warm forehead to mine, fusing our souls together with the sacred blessing of a 4-year-old.
Her acceptance bursts a dam inside; my heart floods with gratitude, and I glimpse into High Heaven from a cold linoleum floor. “Dear God,” I whisper, “Why do you love me so much? Why me?”
And I hear His answer through the lips of one blue-eyed perfect doll I will forever call my Bug.
“You’re my best friend, Nik,” she says and I finally hear what God’s been trying to say.
How great are God's riches! How deep are his wisdom and knowledge! Who can explain his decisions? Who can understand his ways?
Romans 11:33 GNT