A Nana-Mikey story, based on John 21:1-14

 

“You know, Nana, I want to also have breakfast on the beach with Jesus!”

Nana has been observing seven-year-old Mikey since they left church in the morning.  He barely spoke in the car on the way home, which is almost always an indication of his bright, observant little mind ruminating over something he picked up from the sermon.  She has learned that allowing him all the uninterrupted thinking space he needs always pays off with the kind of pure wisdom which cannot come from man or be contained in a book.  It was now finally time to cash in on precious Mikey wisdom.

“Oh my sweet, beloved Mikey, would you please tell me why you say that?”

“Jesus called Peter to catch people, not fish anymore.  He went out to catch fish anyway but couldn’t, and when Jesus called to find out about his catch and found out that he didn’t catch anything, He filled Peter’s nets with fish just like before.  When Peter came ashore, he brought some of his fish for Jesus to roast over the charcoal fire, but Jesus already had fish and bread ready for him to eat.”

Nana is intrigued, but she notices that Mikey looks both serious and sad.  He is not done, but he is clearly taking an extended pause.  She scoots over on the sofa and with a tap of her hand on the space next to her, she hints for him to come and sit next to her.  He obliges and she takes him into a loving embrace while planting a kiss on his blonde hair.  She then releases the embrace and looks straight into his big beautiful blue eyes.

“I’m ready to hear the precious voice of your tender heart.  Go ahead, my sweetheart.”

“I sometimes feel like Peter in his empty boat.  I work hard and I try to be good, but when the adults call out to find out if I am good and I have nothing to show them, then I don’t get help or breakfast.  Sometimes my heart is so heavy and I struggle so much.  People just want to know if I’m good, but they don’t help me….”

Nana feels a huge lump forming in her throat, but despite all her attempts at swallowing it down, she fails.  Again she takes the little boy into her embrace while her tears wet his hair.  This time it is tighter than before, because love has now partnered with protection also.  It would appear that her young Mikey possesses an indescribably profound understanding of the deep complexity of “breakfast”, that it involves the feeding of the soul and that is has nothing to do with cornflakes, fish or bread.  It takes a little while before she is able to compose herself.

“Oh my sweetheart, I am so sorry and I understand what you are saying.  Like you, Peter also had nothing to show, but Jesus had compassion on him and gave him everything he needed to be good.  Whenever I am with you, I will always help you and make you breakfast, but I am not always with you.  Jesus is always with you and He will never leave you.  He loves you more than you will ever know and your heavy heart is precious to Him.  Shall we pray together and ask Him to help you?”

Grandmother and grandson pray together, and as always, Mikey ends the prayer with an enthusiastic AMEN.  He then perks up, and a mischievous sparkle flashes in his eyes.

“Did oom Tim really pee all over his big sister’s bookshelves when he was five years old?”

Nana doesn’t answer, because Mikey knows the answer.  She just takes him into another embrace and plants another kiss on his hair before his parents arrive to take him home again.

Before Mikey gets into the backseat, he peeps around the car door to address his Nana one more time.

“Bye Nana, thank you for the breakfast!”

 

On the walk back to the house, Nana checks her Apple Watch.  The time is 17:45, a vivid confirmation that Mikey does indeed understand the depth of “breakfast”.  She also remembers how eloquently he mentioned the charcoal fire on which Jesus roasted the fish and it reminded her of the realization which gripped her own soul at the time.  She, too, would love to have breakfast on the beach with Jesus.

Oh Lord Jesus, we so often start a charcoal fire on the beach awaiting the arrival of the down and out, but invariably, we forget to bring the fish. And then, when these poor souls come ashore without fish, we fail to serve breakfast on the beach, but rather, we serve berating and browbeating.  Essentially, in the absence of fish to roast, we roast each other.  Please forgive us and help us to have Your compassion for each other?  Amen.

 

“Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.”
‭‭John‬ ‭21‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬