Can you tell me who this is?

Elizabeth, that’s right!  Elizabeth is in second grade.  She lives with her father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Mawakasunga.  And her mother’s sister comes to visit sometimes.  Her name is . . . . . Aunt Gertrude!

I have a lot of different characters in my stories, as you well know?!  There’s Barabas and Sam and Running Chairs and Pastor Ed and on and on and on. But I only have this one giraffe to use for three different people.

Here is the giraffe and when it has this sort of shaggy shawl on, do you know who it is?  Yes, it is Aunt Gertrude.  But when I remove the shaggy shawl . . .  

and put THIS hat on, this giraffe becomes . . . . Mrs. Mawakasunga, mommy.

When I put THIS hat on, this giraffe become Mr. Mawakasunga.  Elizabeth calls him daddy!

This is one giraffe that we can see three different ways.  Mr. Mawakasunga loves his little girl.  Elizabeth can tell because they like to have wrestling matches that turn into tickling matches.  And her daddy always listens to her say her bedtime prayers.

And Mrs. Mawakasunga loves her little girl.  Elizabeth can tell because  lets her help cook in the kitchen and she teaches her about good nutrition and healthy foods.  Sometimes her mommy puts a note that says “I love you!” in Elizabeth’s lunch box, along with a home made chocolate chip cookie! 

And Aunt Gertrude dearly loves her young niece.  She spent the whole summer with Elizabeth two years ago when her parents went to Tanzania.  Sometimes it was hard to tell about Aunt Gertrude.  But in the end, she always did what was best for Elizabeth and she always did it in love.  Aunt Gertrude knows that Barabas is Elizabeth’s very best friend in the whole wide world and when Barabas was in the hospital and needed a new vase installation, Aunt Gertrude was the one who went in secret to pay for the very best.  The only person who knows that is Pastor Ed . . . and you.

So you see, all three persons that this giraffe becomes, according to which hat they wear, love Elizabeth in special ways.

Today is Trinity Sunday.  It is a day we especially think about how God is One God, but we see him in three persons; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Three persons, one God. 

The sign in American Sign Language for the Trinity, or God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit goes like this:  you hold up three fingers on your right hand to mean the three persons, then you make a ‘C’ with your left hand that means ‘church’.  Bring your right hand down through the ‘church’ in your left hand and as you do that, change the three fingers into one finger. Then hold up your hand with the index finger pointing up to God.   See, three persons, one God.

I can tell that God the Father loves us because He gives us the breath to have wrestling matches that turn into tickling matches.  And He Answers all our bedtime prayers.

I can tell that God the Son loves us because he feeds us at great cost, with his own body and blood when we have the bread and wine for Communion.

I can tell the God the Holy Spirit loves us because the Spirit is with us in the most unexpected ways, in the most unexpected times, in the most unexpected places, providing us with the very thing that we need.

One God, three persons.  (Make the sign of the Trinity in Sign Language.)   

THE END

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