Giving kids noisemakers is a tricky decision. It usually means they are shortly occupied, but it adds in that much more noise into an already loud existance. So, in the end, I have to say that Jonathan's persistance won out. And the gamble to give into the desires of a three year old paid off.
I finally got the opportunity to make instruments at my parents' house. Instead of the typical drums, he had his heart set on a guitar. Here is where the snowball started. My brain starts thinking, "How can I achieve this goal quickly." So, I started bringing boxes and rubber bands together. My mother chimed in, "I could just buy him a guitar (which, I thought to myself, would be the EASIEST solution)." I reminded her that she, too, would have made one if I begged and pleaded at three to have a guitar.
My father, being of a kindred spirit with MacGuiver, could not help but get the gears in his brain turning on the sturdiest version of a guitar. He quickly added in his ideas of how to construct a homemade guitar (which definately included an industrial-grade staple gun). So, as he went to working his magic, my beloved husband HAD to add a few suggestions of his own on how to bridge my ideas with my father's (you know, translating "wifespeak" into "manspeak").
In the end, all the ideas wielded a fabulous guitar (thanks to my mother's discarded boxes, saved rubber bands, Mary Kay shipping ties, and some good old fashioned duct tape). Jonathan played with his new guitar for hours. He slept with it. He woke up with it and snuggled it until it was time for church. Jonathan insisted that he wear his cowboy boots and hat (which we had to dig up) and take his guitar to church.
This brought the "dressing ourselves at three" argueement to new heights. I finally conceeded some ground and let him have his way. What came next was the entertaining part of the story.
Jonathan always loves singing in church. But an instrument, now that was really worshiping in style! He sang and strummed at the top of his little lungs for the whole service. By the end, the associate pastor was rolling on the ground watching Jonathan perform for his audience of one and enjoying singing to the Lord.
It made such an impact that Jonathan the worship band invited Jonathan to play in their gig that evening for the service in the park. He would not sleep or be deterred...he was playing with the band asap. Instead of spending his evening with his friends playing on the train slide, Jonathan hung out with the band doing sound check, eating with them, and playing all ten songs in their set. For 45 minutes, my son who has a five minute attention span sang into the mic set up for him and strummed along to every note, glorifying God.
"Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day." I Chronicles 16:9,23
