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    by Susan McGrath

Little People
Date Posted: June 18, 2005

When I was in preschool and grade school my brother and I had a house and a school bus from Fisher-Price filled with what we called "Little People". (I don't know if that's their official name.)

Later we added a farm, parking garage, a castle and Sesame Street to the collection. Then a tree house with "imitation" little people. They even had their own amusement park later a year later! (My best friend in grade school had a real "Little People" McDonald's with food trays and a drive-thru -- and I'm still jealous!)

In case you haven't figured out what I'm talking about, they were little wooden (later plastic) people with painted faces and molded plastic hair or hats. They were not as big around as a spool of thread and could be hidden almost anywhere. The had no arms or legs, but for some reason we didn't think that was weird!

We still have most of these sets from our childhood. Some of the braids on the girls have bitten off and the foam on the beds from the house was long ago peeled away, but overall they are still in great shape and my kids love to play with them.

We have a couple of the newer versions at home. My sons have a village, complete with a pet grooming shop, fast food restaurant and car wash. But they don't play with it nearly as much as they play with my old sets at Granny's house.

Little wonder. (Pun intended!) The new ones are much bigger around. They are all one molded piece and are made of soft plastic, not the tough stuff of the older ones. You couldn't even put teeth marks in those -- my brother tried many times! The larger size is because the old ones were a choking hazard, I guess. (Gasp! My children are still playing with them.)

The new ones also have light plastic cars and trucks which lose their wheels easily. All our old tractors and trucks are still intact. And the old farm animals were jointed. They could run or lie down or bend to eat. The new ones -- you guessed it -- one piece of molded plastic. They have to hop everywhere and sleep standing up.

Why does any of this matter and what could it possibly have to do with a relationship with God? I have no idea! (Just kidding.)

New and improved isn't always an improvement. The older toys have much more character and are more durable. I don't think any of us ever got one caught in our throats!

God's ways and words are the same. We can seek to understand them in our own life, but they can't be improved upon. God knew how we would be living and what we would be able to comprehend long before any of us took our first breath.

He gave us a book of timeless wisdom and if we get choked on the words it's because we didn't chew them long enough or wash them down the Living Water. His ways have endured fires and famines, dictators and domains and have endured not decades, but millennia.

There are many alternatives, imitations and new-and-improved versions out there, but His book is still on the best-seller list. We turn to it and return to it because it is familiar and comfortable and we know it to be true!

"All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal." -- Psalm 119:160

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Biography Information:
Susan McGrath is:

a recovering journalist trying to encourage others and glorify God through writing;

living the small-town life with husband Tim and sons Lincoln, 12, and Sawyer, 6;

completing a few put-off writing projects while using chocolate for therapy.
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