there are very few things in this world that i am absolutely, positively, hitch-my-wagon-to-it convinced of.
i’d say the Trinity, the pure joy of children, and the beauty of an early spring day are my top three.
flip-flops are pretty amazing, too…but that’s a blog all on it’s own.
anyway, my point is that i’m not sure there is a greater gift in this world than children.
children are curiosity, love, and honesty clothed in huggable, tickle-able, giggling goodness.
when i’m around kids, i can’t help but be completely overwhelmed with love.
granted, a good temper tantrum in the middle of Target doesn’t deliver the most loving or loveable feeling…but you know full well God is working in you and through you in the situation.
and
that is love.
plus, i learn bucket-loads from kids.
when kids are scared, they reach for someone to hold them.
when kids are happy, their faces and bodies show it with ear-to-ear grins, excited squeals, and maybe even a happy dance if you’re lucky.
J
when kids are sad, they cry.
when kids have something to say, they say it.
most importantly, i see God twinkling in children’s eyes.
i have had the opportunity to spend much of my life surrounded by children.
from babysitting to rocking babies at Children’s Hospital to awesome daily encounters with kids, i am constantly amazed.
the more time i spend in the presence of children, the more convinced i am that God made these perfect little beings to deliver the true experience of joy, love, patience, trust, learning, humility, pain, growth, curiosity, excitement, mischief, and innocence.
children are God’s way of delighting me in the littlest and grandest of ways.
have you ever been around a child when you are sad or hurt?
their instant reaction is to come running over to wipe away your tears or bring you a band-aid.
and when they’re still pretty young, there is no such thing as “cliques” – everyone plays together.
sure there are tiffs over toys, but even those are short-lived.
just yesterday, a friend was telling me a story about a dashing young boy she knows that shocked the heck out of a whole bunch of people when he befriended an elderly gentleman at her church.
the elderly man is sort of “set in his ways,” so people are friendly with him, but they give him his space, if that makes sense.
well, anyway, my point is…the aforementioned dashing young boy one day was found not only chatting it up with the elderly gentleman…he was climbing all over the poor guy, too.
and the clincher of it all – both of them were having a blast!
that happenstance morning of fun has lead to not only more church hang out time for the new friends but outings, too, with the boy and his family and the elderly gentleman.
how cool is
that?
had the little boy been clued into our dumb “grown-up” mentality, neither the boy nor his friend would have experienced such a special fellowship.
i love the verse in Mark when Jesus says,
“…let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
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ruly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little
child
will never enter it.” (v 14-16)
if only i could get that through my head sometimes – receive the kingdom like a child…receive the kingdom like a child…
it’s so simple, yet so difficult at the same time.
for the past year, i have been patiently praying for God to break down my personal desires and breathe into me a desire to obediently pursue the things
He desires for me.
i can feel Him doing this, and i’ve experienced it in a variety of ways, too…and yet i know i am hindering Him from truly developing me.
sometimes i feel like i’m standing right on the edge of something amazing.
God nudges me towards a new experience, and my human, type-A tendency kicks in and flips my worry switch.
ding ding ding – the first step in getting in His way.
in my heart, i trust Him.
when people challenge me, i trust Him.
yet there’s this sliver in the back of my brain that sparks the, “is there something i can do to fix it?” reaction.
and that is
not trusting.
had a child been in the same situation, she probably would have leaned forward a little to check out the situation…and jumped right in.
like these little boys at church a few weeks ago.
as worship was starting, a little boy appeared at the edge of
the stage.
then another little boy (probably his brother), tip-toed over, too.
slowly, the boys took steps forward onto the stage until, after a few songs, they were singing, spinning and dancing all over the place.
they didn’t look around and see if anyone else was doing it, they didn’t worry about if it was cool or if anyone was watching…they just jumped right in.
so guess what happened during the closing worship.
two little girls did just the same thing!
so, in celebration of inspirational children, their pure love and trust, and the power of the Spirit through them, i have begun a new prayer:
Father, i adore the curiosity, love and unconditional trust that you bless each of your children with.
God, please help me dig deep to uncover the purity of these things from my childhood; help me discard my jaded “grown-up” perspectives so that i am able to run after your desires for me with the excitement of a child.
