Feeding Babies Fake Food

This past Sunday I preached from Matthew 7. Jesus uses the illustration of a child asking for real food and getting fake food. He asks for bread and gets a rock. He asks for a fish and gets a snake. I thought of that tonight as I sat with my daughter playing with her baby doll. The "baby" was "crying" and so I told Kate we needed to feed her. What did we feed her? Fake food. Well, the baby is fake too so only fake food works. Kate's so young, not even 2, but she already has an active imagination. She did what she's seen us do with her countless times. She fed the baby a fake bottle and spoon fed her fake cereal. It works for fake babies, but not so much for the real thing. Sometimes it would be nice to go back to a time when fake meals for fake babies is cute. That would mean there is nothing to worry about. Worry only happens when you experience life, and Kate's not quite there yet. I don't remember being almost 2, but I want to remember what it felt like to sit on the floor with my dad and mom and "play." I want to remember how comforting it was to sit between them on the couch and not have a care in the world. Just security. The closest thing to that is providing it for my daughter. God help me to do just that.