He believed his friends were going to think that he was weird.
Larry said to his mom, “I think I need to go for a walk and think about what’s been happening to me recently.”

Larry’s mom said, “OK. But don’t stay gone too long. We want to make sure that you’re still OK.“

When Larry arrived at Grandpa’s house, he said, “Hi, Grandpa. What are you doing?“

Grandpa responded, “Hi, Larry. I haven’t talked to you for a while.”

Larry said, “I thought you were going to tell us another story this afternoon, but I didn’t hear from you.“

Grandpa said, “That’s because I’m going to tell my story tomorrow in your children’s ministry class.“

Larry asked, “What is the story about?”

Grandpa gave his regular response, “You are just going to have to wait.“

Larry objected the way he normally does, “But, I don’t want to wait.“

Grandpa said, “Is that why you came by my house? Or is there something else on your mind today?”

Larry asked, “Grandpa, do you think I’m weird?“

Grandpa said, “No, Larry. You are not weird. You are unique.“

Larry said, “That’s just a nice way of saying that I’m weird.“

Grandpa asked, “Why do you think you’re weird? Has something happened recently that’s bothering you?”

Larry said, “I’ve been thinking about some of the things that have happened to me. Last summer, Lisa got a new locket and she lost it the first day before she went to sleep. We had no idea where it was. I decided to write a letter to God and asked Him to help us find the locket.”

Grandpa said, “That sounds like a good thing to do. It doesn’t sound weird to me. Lots of people ask God to help them.“

Larry said, “Just as I finished my letter, my dad came into my room to see what I was doing. I told him I wanted to send the letter to God. My dad said that God already read the letter, and that it was a good letter. How could God read the letter before I sent it?”

Grandpa said, “There are things about God that are difficult to understand. Maybe God read the letter when your dad said, or maybe He didn’t. So why do you think that’s weird?”

Larry said, “I couldn’t go to sleep that night because I was trying to figure it out. In the morning, I was looking at the picture on my wall, and I saw the angel’s fist with his thumb pointing straight up. When I asked my parents to look at the picture, the angel’s hand was normal again.”

Grandpa said, “That is mysterious. What about the locket?”

Larry said, “Lisa said that the locket appeared around her neck, and she didn’t know how it got there.”

Grandpa said, “So how does that make you seem weird? I thought you were going to say Lisa is the weird one.”

Larry said, “Yeah. It does seem like Lisa is a little bit weird. But I don’t want my friends to think I’m weird, too.“

Grandpa said, “I think you’re going to like the story that I tell in your children’s ministry class tomorrow morning. It may help you understand some things that have been happening recently with you and your sister.”

Larry said, “Another thing. And this one’s even weirder. We were on a camping trip and this big black bear was about to eat Lisa for lunch.”

Grandpa said, “Did you go and rescue Lisa, and beat up the bear so it wouldn’t hurt her?”

Larry said, “No. That’s what David did. But I didn’t even have to do that. I just prayed a little prayer for protection for my sister. And the bear changed his mind. He decided he wanted to drink some lemonade instead of eating Lisa for lunch. Lisa and I never told our friends because we didn’t want them to think that we were weird.”

Grandpa said, “Sounds like you both are normal. There’s some things that you don’t understand yet.“

Larry said, “So, Grandpa. When am I going to get smart like you, and not have to ask these stupid questions?”

Grandpa said, “That is a good question.”

Larry said, “And just last night, God gave me a dream about my friend’s grandmother dying. I didn’t understand the dream, but I believe Jesus spoke to me while I was sitting in my backyard this morning. My mom got a phone call, confirming that the grandmother died last night. And that her family knows that she’s going to heaven because she accepted Jesus.”

Grandpa said, “Some people are going to think that your experiences are very unusual. But you need to decide whether you want to keep these things to yourself, or share them with your friends.”

Larry said, “Thanks, Grandpa. You helped me feel better, but I still don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

Grandpa said, “I’m sure you will figure it out. You always do.”

Larry said, “Grandpa, you did it again. You said almost nothing, but you made me feel so much better. How did you learn to do that?“

Grandpa replied, “I guess that’s another thing you’re going to have to accept that you don’t know.”

Larry asked, “Why is that?“

Grandpa answered, “Because I don’t know either.“