There are moments in our day when the big sprouts forget that they are supposed to hate each other.  They are siblings, after all, and they have the same rivalry as any other set of brother and sister.  It is the smallest sprout, these days, who offers the balanced reminder that there can be fun in getting along.

I can hardly believe that we nearly decided against bringing that third voice to the table. We had thought about whether the first two sprouts were enough…and believe me, at times they are more than enough…but I am forever grateful that God blessed us with the third wheel to our tricycle.  She keeps all of us young, playing those games that the older two would likely have already abandoned.  Running through the sprinklers with her still, they become the younger version of themselves…the brother and sister who used to like each other and play endlessly together.

It is Little Sprout’s game. 
The one that starts, “I love you!”
To which you are to respond, “I love you too!”. 
Her line is then, “I love you more!”
Your reply, “I love you most!”
and she finishes the dialogue with, “I love you more than most!  I win!”

I am not surprised that her game has an element of competition…something she has learned well living in this house.  But the important key to winning her game is that you have to be the one to start.  You have to say, “I love you” first, or you don’t win.  The bigger sprouts could learn a lot from the wisdom of the littlest.