Did You Get on the Bus, Gus?

Posted on May 12, 2015 by sue a allen

Our rambunctious 3-year old keeps begging us to ride a bus. Repeatedly. Like non-stop, if you know what I mean. Everyday he sits and waits for his big brother to arrive home from school on a bright, yellow school bus. When we are out and about, inevitably we see a bus rush by, packed to the brim. In the eyes of our toddler, we are holding out on him. He has convinced himself that riding a bus will complete his life. It is all he needs or wants.

He wakes up in the morning and asks, “Can I ride a bus today?”

I feel kinda bad telling him, “No.” But seriously, I know his bubble would be busted. There is no way that the bus ride could ever live up to his imagined expectations. No way, Hosea.

In his mind, he has determined that everyone is allowed the luxury of bus-riding…EVERYONE, that is, except him. We’ve had temper tantrums over bus riding. Seriously, I’m not making this up. It’s a major dilemma at the Allen house as of late.

And so, my teenagers are now making up excuses…

Trust me, you won’t like it.

Buses are not THAT cool.

You never know where buses will take you.

Remember, don’t ride with strangers…and the bus driver is a stranger.

These excuses WILL catch up with me. I know they will. The day will come when we need that kid to get on a bus and he no longer will want to.

It amazes me how quickly we can rattle off excuses. Excuses…boy, they sure do come easy. Unfortunately, they come rapidly when it boils down to spending time with God too. There always seem to be 100 Reasons Why I Have Something Better To Do.

GET ON THE BUS, GUS. READ YOUR BIBLE.

What if my 3-year old is right? What if a bus-ride exceeds his expectations? What if he thinks it is the ride of his life? After all, why am I the one to shatter his little dreams? Who knows, maybe he is on to something. Maybe it would be the coolest thing ever…because he believes!

He believes. Why then, don’t I?