The noun, rumination, means a deep considered thought about something.

My granddaughter, Jane, is seven years old. She is at that stage in her young life where she is losing her baby teeth.

Last Saturday she came to visit with her younger sister, mom, and dad (who is our son). Usually, I spend a lot of time during such visits acting silly and trying to make the two granddaughters laugh. My wife and I love their giggles, joyful smiles and laughter.

Well, last Saturday, Jane turned the tables on me and excitedly wanted to show me how loose her front tooth was. Every time she wiggled it, I had a bout of “heebbie-jeebies,” made faces showing her how uncomfortable wiggling it made me, and told her, “No, no, don’t do that in front of  your grandpa.” She laughed so hard, she was having trouble getting enough air in her lungs to breathe, which made her laugh even more.

Two days later our son texted a picture of Jane with the tooth in question now missing, after falling out at school. She had the biggest smile on her face causing us to smile as well.

This new life of shedding an old tooth and welcoming a new one reminded me of our life in Christ. When we are baptized we discard that old life we had known and are welcomed into new life with Jesus, who is our source of love.

As Pope Francis put it so beautifully once: “... Jesus Christ loves each one of you...never turn away from that source of love, for it is the condition for being happy and full of joy always and in spite of everything. This is the new life that sprang up in us on the day of Baptism and we have the responsibility to share it with everyone so that it can grow in each person and bear fruit.”

I am reminded of the saying , “Jesus loves you and so do I.”

Now, that is something to smile about!

By Deacon Tom Gryzbek