Superman, Thomas the Tank Engine, or Andy the Vicar????

We have a very predictable bedtime routine with Jack. He has come to love it and even expects the same components every night. Pyjamas first, Bible second, singing third, prayer fourth (only recently this step has been divided into two parts, ‘Jack prays, then Daddy prays’), and then kisses and into bed.

Since Jack was tiny, we have always said the same couple of sentences before going to bed. Right before we tuck Jack in we tell him, ‘Mommy loves you very much, Daddy loves you very much, but Jesus loves you most of all.’ Over the last couple of months this routine has changed to be a bit more interactive: ‘Mommy loves you very much, Daddy loves you very much, but who loves you most of all?’ and Jack cheerfully yells ‘JESUS’ through the sucking of his thumb. In the last couple of weeks, we have been greeted with Jack excitingly proclaiming ‘JESUS; and then yelling ‘ANDY’.

You see Andy is the vicar (pastor) at our church in London and Jack has really taken to him. We spend a lot of time talking about Andy, pretending that we are driving to Andy’s house, imitating Andy by wearing a coat and so on. Most of Jack’s friends are obsessed with Dora or Thomas. They have their cute Dora water bottles and Thomas backpacks. In my opinion, Andy could make some money from our family if he wanted to start marketing Andy pants (underwear for those American friends reading this)!

It is hard to know what to think of Jack’s new obsession. We have definitely done the best we can to explain to a 2 year old that Andy definitely loves him but not nearly as much as God. Hopefully this will become clear to Jack over time. I imagine this is just a passing phase as so many are at this age. However, as I have reflected on it, I pray that Jack’s excitement for people who love the Lord (and even have a pastoral authority over him) continues as he grows up and that he would chose to have this same love for himself.