Four year olds love to play pretend. On Sunday, Timothy and Sarah had fevers, so Ryan stayed home with them. Marc and Luc and I were on our own. As I buckled them in Daddy’s car, the adventure began.
“Where are our sunglasses?” Luc wants to know.
“In the van.”
“But we are in Dad’s car,” says Marc
Luc adds, “How can we be secret agents?”
“You’ll just have to pretend your regular glasses are sunglasses.”
“Hey Mom, you can be an agent too!”
“You have glasses too!”
“Okay, secret agents,” I start the car and we are on our way to church, “what’s our mission today?”
“We have to rescue people.” Luc states.
“Mom, do you see that dot way down the road?” Marc asks.
Not really, but I will oblige, “I see it. What is it?”
“That is a T-rex!”
“A T-rex?”
“Yes!” says Marc.
“He’s going to eat up the church,” reveals Luc.
“We’ve got to stop him!” says Marc.
“Oh, how do we do that?” I ask.
“Drive faster mom!” shouts Marc.
“We have to get between the T-rex and the church!” says Luc, using his hands to illustrate.
“Okay, hang on.” We keep driving.
“Mom, there’s someone behind us!” Luc says.
“Who is it?”
“It’s a George, and he’s an agent too!” (George is our family name for a “squirrel”)
“oh really?”
“yes, the car did not squish him flat.”
“He made it to the other side,” adds Marc.
“and now, he’s an agent too!” finished Luc.
“Mom! Mom! See that tower?” Marc points to one of those large towers where electrical wires run.
“I see it. Are you going to tie the t-rex to it?”
“Nope. I picked it up and put it on top of him and now he’s trapped.”
“He can’t get out,” says Luc.
“Whew! The church is saved.” says Marc.
At this point we are pulling into the parking lot. I park and get my agents unbuckled. Inside the door, I remind them that they are secret agents and agents always walk in church. “We will hang up coats and then you can go to your class. Mr. Pete and Ms. Deb can teach you all about how to be a secret agent who loves Jesus.”
“God loves us, Mom!”
“yes, that’s right.”
“even if we get angry.”
“even if you get angry”

At this point our pastor says Hi and bends down to talk to the boys at their level. I love it when grown ups do that.
“Hi Marc and Luc, how are you?”
“We saved church from the t-rex!”
“We are secret agents!” Lucas reveals with a sly smile.
“A t-rex?” asks Pastor Robert, feigning concern, “secret agents?”
“Don’t worry,” says Marc, putting his hand on the pastor’s arm, “he’s trapped in the tower!”
“We’re safe!” adds Luc, “ He won’t eat the church. Marc slammed the tower on him.”
“He won’t eat the people, either,” Marc shares.
“We’re secret agents,” Lucas reveals again, “but we don’t have sunglasses.”
“They are in the van!” says Marc.
“And George followed us!” says Luc. They both begin talking at once.
“He DID not get squished flat!”
“Mom drove fast!”
“You can’t run in church.” adds Luc.
“But God still loves you.”
“Even if you’re mad!”
“Time for class!” shouts Marc, spotting his teachers and heading down the hallway. Luc takes off too. So much for no running. I hurry off, saying something about imagination and follow my “agents” down the hallway. They have thankfully stopped running and are again regaling their tale of adventure to their Sunday School teachers. I arrive in time to hear,
“and he’s in the tower, so he won’t eat you, Mr. Pete.”
“you get to teach us to be good secret agents.”
“A real t-rex?” asks Ms. Deb.
The agents are thrilled by her interest, and tell their story again, adding more details, both talking at once, and so they head to class while mom sighs and thanks the Lord for people who love and teach my secret agents, oops, I mean little boys, how to love Jesus.