Chandler’s timing couldn’t have been worse. I came home from a late night run to the grocery store to find our kitchen had been turned into a department store. All sorts of household items had been arranged on the counter with a little strip of masking tape bearing a price. Monopoly money was handed to Marti and I and we were invited to shop. Though there were a few deals to be had (the little single-cup espresso maker I like was only $25), most items were way overpriced, like the Sharpie and the framed picture of Marti and Anne that were each $500. I asked Chandler about the Sharpie and he said it was a rare version… very old.

The lateness of the hour made me want to get him to pack up everything and head to bed, but the creativity, the imagination and the spontaneity of the moment were undeniable. So shop on, we said, and we did until we dropped.

You can’t always pick teachable moments, in fact you rarely do. You have to be ready for them when they show up, even if it’s after midnight. All that creativity and imagination brimming in a 10-year-old? Stop that? Are you kidding?

Don’t you think God has us learning through similar teachable moments? Don’t you think he wants us to check in with Him all the time? All of life has significance, if nothing else, just to learn. Don’t miss it.