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Today my twin granddaughters are six months old!

At six months, they still have MANY developmental milestones ahead of them – crawling, walking, driving a car, etc. But, last week, they both rolled over for the first time, which was exciting! They’ve had their first tastes of solid food, which went well. Today they’re napping well, which is especially exciting for their caregivers!

Six-month-old babies can’t talk yet, of course, but these two are certainly quite vocal.  They have much to say and they say it with significant volume. Their communication takes the form of laughs and giggles, squeals, monosyllabic babbling, cooing, cries, and grunts (I’m sure I left something out).

Obviously, the laughs and giggles are expressions of happiness. The squeals and cooing indicate contentment or pleasure. The crying is clearly displeasure, though it’s not always clear what their displeasure is. But what is all this grunting? Does it have a purpose, a meaning? I’m unclear.

The grunting doesn’t seem to indicate displeasure. It doesn’t seem to indicate hunger. It isn’t related to anything that might show up in the diaper, if you know what I mean. It doesn’t seem to reflect any kind of effort, like trying to crawl. They aren’t in pain. As best I can tell, it’s just noise. Or is it?

Maybe they’re just grunting for nothing. Or are they?

Little did I know, there’s an abundance of articles on the topic. But they all seem to relate baby grunting to digestion and the moving of bowels. Like I said, that’s not what my granddaughters are doing – at least, not when they’re grunting. But, what are they doing?

I’m an educated man, with degrees from respectable institutions. I have a degree in Communications, with an emphasis in Public Speaking. As a pastor/preacher, I communicate for a living. I have training in advanced listening skills. But, when my grand-girls start grunting, I have absolutely no idea what – if anything – they’re trying to tell me!

Maybe, sometimes, no matter how hard we try, no matter how attentive we are, no matter the sincerity of our desire or intent, comprehension is simply beyond us. We just don’t understand.

Of course, that’s true with six-month-old babies and SO, SO, SO many other things.

I find it is especially true when trying to listen to God or discern God’s will. It’s almost as though God grunts too.

I have so many questions about so many things in life. I ask questions. I seek answers. I read books. I research online. I think. Yet so much remains opaque, despite my best efforts. Not knowing, not comprehending, can be frustrating, to say the least.

What does one do with said frustration? Maybe I should start grunting too! Maybe I do!

When my granddaughters start grunting, I listen, I laugh, sometimes I grunt back. I make attempts at interpretation. But mostly I just let them keep on grunting to their hearts’ content. Maybe someday I’ll ask them, “What was all of that six-month-old grunting about?”  They won’t remember, of course. In the meantime, I’ll just hold them and happily listen to whatever noises they want to make for me.

Maybe that’s a good approach to all of life’s grunt-like mysteries – and there are SO many. When we don’t know, despite our best efforts at attentiveness or interpretation or comprehension, don’t get frustrated or upset. Just sit with the unknowing. Just sit with the grunting. Take it into your lap and accept it as it is.

Maybe there just aren’t words for the grunts yet. Maybe grunting is all there is.