Iron Sharpens Iron

by Donald Cantrell

Those of you that follow my articles know that I often write about life events that occur between my granddaughter and myself. Kinsley will be ten years old in a few weeks, and I have been her primary babysitter since she was four weeks old. It has been lifechanging for me to watch her grow up from a baby to a “tween” as she calls it.

Throughout the years, we have had some awesome excursions as we went on our weekly trips to the Chattanooga Zoo, the Tennessee Aquarium, various jump parks, petting zoos, or eating maple flavored ice cream with chunks of bacon in it at a working farm over in Ellijay. I have watched her learn to eat everything from sardines, mayo and honey sandwiches to chomping down on gator tail or Alaskan crab legs.

Our journey has been much tighter than merely being her “poppy” or her “babysitter” because I have had the joy of also being her pastor, literally since birth. During the past ten years, I have watched her grow up singing “Jesus Loves” to singing “Christian Songs” during karaoke on a cruise ship and bringing the house down as everyone applauded and hugged her for singing songs about her faith and her relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend” (Pro 27:17, KJV).

You might think that I am always the teacher, but as I have watched her grow up, Kinsley has taught me some wonderful things about life. In watching her, I have learned that it is okay to make yourself vulnerable and put yourself out there in the forefront. It has been a joy to see her grow up and grow into a young girl that not only listens to my sermons, but tries to live by them and then calls me out when I don’t.

One day, I preached on never taking “tomorrow” for granted and that we ought to never put stuff off for tomorrow if we can do it today. The next week, I heard some people in our family saying they would get to some things “tomorrow” and Kinsley told them they should never say “tomorrow.” I find great joy in knowing that she is listening to my messages, but on the other hand, I find it very gripping to know that I better live what I preach.

I have developed a relationship with this girl that is sincere, it is brutally honest, and I can honestly say that she has made me a better preacher, because I see that the words I say are literally taken to heart and that I need to be very careful in how I present the “word of God.” I have enjoyed the last ten years of this relationship and look forward to the coming years. God has blessed me mightily by placing this “fireball” into my life, and I will not take any day for granted.