When I was five, the highlight of my day happened at 5:00 pm. Jean Hill, the Storyland lady, sang fun songs, read letters from children, and dramatized children’s books as if the story were happening NOW! inside our radio.

On weekdays, I asked my mother every ten minutes, “What time is it? Is it time yet?” Only once in those years do I remember that the time got to be later than 5:30, the ending of the show. “Call me next time!” I cried. I still feel the grief of that day, of missing forever that day’s thirty minutes with the Storyland lady.

What was it about her story-telling that made it so compelling? I’d lie on the carpeted floor, my ear to the wooden radio with fabric hiding the speakers inside. I hung onto every word. Shhhh! I’d shush my younger brother. Shhhh! “Listen to the story.” Bambi came alive time and time again. Thumper, the rabbit, and his mother’s wisdom; Cinderella’s rags to riches and a royal prince; Little Red Riding Hood’s narrow escape; and The Three Pigs’ ‘outcrafty-ing’ the desperate wolf. The storyland lady played long-playing records of stories too.

Jean Hill never forgot to sing “Happy Birthday” to the kids who wrote notes to her. One day in the cold of a frosty February, my parents bundled brother Paul and me into our 1940’s auto, drove down to the WHTC radio station, and parked outside. We watched through a picture window as Jean Hill sang “Happy Birthday” to me. I was thrilled to see and hear her at the same time.

How can one person grab a child’s attention in such a way that, when the child becomes a grandparent, (s)he still remembers the thrills of hearing, listening to or seeing that person almost everyday?

Does your child have a steady diet of listening time with you? Does your child . . .

. . . hang onto every word you say as (s)he hears stories from your life?

. . . listen with heart for truth in each of God’s Bible stories you tell?

. . . see who you are and what you do, and learn from your example?

. . . know that (s)he matters to you, because you love and also listen?

Do you have a steady diet of time with God? Do you . . .

. . . hang onto every word of God’s promises and claim them for your life?

. . . listen with heart for truth in God’s Bible stories?

. . . see who Christ is and what he has done, and learn from his example?

. . . know that you matter to him, because he loves and also listens?

Be intentional. What could your child miss forever because you missed a listening opportunity? As God loves you, so love your child, assuring that the blessing of your child’s identity in Christ continues to be the story told for generations.