Last Saturday, we laid my Uncle Bill to rest in beautiful Colorado. Surrounded by those who loved him most, we remembered his remarkable life and prayed to God that we might live the rest of ours a little bit like he lived his.
In his famous children’s television show, “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood,” Fred Rogers used a framed magical television monitor on the wall called “Picture Picture” to show viewers short films of how everyday things were made. The short segments during “Picture Picture” featured calming, real-world processes– like how a pair of shoes is crafted, or how people bake bread.
If I could invoke your imagination today, to walk with me over to the “Picture Picture” wall, I’d like to show you two pictures of my Uncle Bill. The first is Bill’s first time meeting my first child, Chaney. I remember that day – it was around Christmas time, and the family had all traveled to be together. Bill’s interaction with baby Chaney was different from other adults in the room. The adults sat on the couch or in the recliners. Bill was on the floor, criss-cross applesauce, with a toy in one hand and baby Chaney in the other. Almost all of my memories of my uncle look like this: Uncle Bill, on the floor, toys in hand, playing with me or my cousins, and in later years, our babies.
The second picture I want you to see is the last picture I have of Uncle Bill in the summer of 2025, just after I led our church in our annual Community Camp. Cancer had taken a toll on Bill’s body. Yet, here he was, on the beach behind his house, in his lawn chair, playing with my two little girls. He put the lily pad float on the lake, let the girls try to balance and stand, then he would pull the rope so they’d fall and fall off. The girls laughed and laughed as Uncle Bill pretended to be a pirate and the girls pretended the lily pad was their ship.
Mr. Rogers “Picture Picture” showed children how every day things were made. If these two pictures of my Uncle Bill were to grace the frame of “Picture Picture,” they’d lead us to understand one of Jesus’ most significant teachings: “Unless you become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” A chapter later, in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus teaches again, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” Uncle Bill embodied Jesus’ posture toward children. He lived on their level, with childlike wonder, curiosity, and boundless energy. Uncle Bill was playfully present–delighting in children like God certainly delighted in Bill.
If you want to know the real-world process of following Jesus, walk over to the “Picture Picture” wall with me… Uncle Bill will teach us.
Grace and Peace,
Katie
