Little Writer

Caedmon has never been one to draw or color very much. There have been many times I’ve picked him up from church and the teacher said, “He didn’t want to do a coloring sheet today.”

That’s never really been a big deal to me. He’s a boy. He’s also a perfectionist. So when he draws or colors, it really bothers him when something doesn’t turn out just how he pictures it in his head. I can completely sympathize.

So imagine my surprise, when, during our school lessons, Caedmon begs to write. Once he starts writing letters, he fusses, of course. And goofs off. His favorite thing to say after he goes a little crazy with a letter is, “That one got a little out of control!”

He’s also a bit hard headed when it comes to writing. I don’t know where he gets that. He wants to hold the pencil his way. He wants to dot the “i" his way. It’s a balancing act I’m still figuring out.

But this…this really surprised me.

Just a few days ago, Caedmon was spending some “roomtime” in the playroom (we are using the dining room at the townhouse for a playroom/school room/office). I heard him singing and peeked in to find him drawing on the Magna Doodle.

He looked up and said, “Look at the song I’m writing, Mom!”

Caedmon sang and wrote many “songs” that day, which actually all resembled the one above – squiggles, lines, and curlys.

I know, you’re probably thinking, “Yes. Great. He’s writing ‘songs.’ Woohoo.”

But what you may not remember (or know), is that Caedmon’s namesake was a hymnwriter and the earliest English poet whose name is known. In fact, his only known surviving work, simply titled, Caedmon’s Hymn, hangs on Caedmon’s wall in the original Old English and modern English. (Well, right now it’s in storage. It normally hangs on his wall.)

And that’s all well and good. But when you read the story of the “original” Caedmon, you learn that he was just the guy who took care of the animals until God gifted him to write. And write, he did.

It’s been our prayer that God would use “our” Caedmon to bring glory to Himself, whether that’s writing songs or something else. Only God knows what’s in store for Caedmon. Whatever it is, I know it’s going to be good.