To be like a child

                Yesterday I saw a cute little girl in the cry room at church. She smiled as soon as she saw me and my son. “Hi, I love your little baby,” she said.

                Her sweetness made me smile. I was reminded of what Jesus’s love for children.

                “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such of these.”

“And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3

Wow! Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the children. He went as far to say that unless we become like children we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Often I get so focused on the things that I can teach the children in my life. But what about the things I can learn from them? If I have to become like a child in order to enter heaven,  there must be a lot I have to learn from them. Here are some principles I have learned from the children in my life:

1.)    We must totally depend on God for our needs and trust that God will provide us with everything we need. My son trusts and loves me. He knows that I will give him everything he needs. This is how I want it. I want my son to know I love him, and I will always be there for him and take care of him. I am certain that our heavenly father wants the same thing for his children. He wants us to know that we can trust and depend on him. But how often do we worry, and question his ability to care for us?

2.)    We should delight in the Lord, and look forward to our time with him. When my son hears my voice or sees me he gets excited. He throws his hands up in the air and coos and smiles. It always makes me so happy to see his reaction to me. I am sure that our heavenly father must feel the same joy when he sees us looking forward to our time with him, or delighting in his wonders. How many times do we act and if we have something more important to do than talking to God or worshipping him? I wonder how much our life would change if we looked forward to our time with the Lord and remember why we love him.

3.)    We should keep our eyes on the Lord. When I go somewhere new with my son or someone else is holding him, he keeps his eyes on me. He has to make sure that I am there with him. I wonder how much our lives would change if we kept our eyes on our heavenly father, just as our children keep their eyes on us. What would it look like to keep our eyes on God? We wouldn’t want to go anywhere God wasn’t; we would seek him and his plan for our lives.

4.)    We should be honest with others and ourselves. I don’t know anyone who is more honest than a child. When I was in high school I babysat a little girl, while her mom was in the hospital having a baby. I spent the night at her house to watch her. When we woke up, she said, “You are very pretty, but look a lot prettier when you wear makeup…maybe you should put some on. You would look a whole lot better.” Ah, the honesty of a child. I am not suggesting that we should be so harsh with each other, but that we should start being more honest with each other and ourselves. What would our lives look like if we had the honesty of a child?

5.)    We should express our emotions. When my son is upset, he cries. When he is happy, he smiles and laughs. That sounds simple enough doesn’t it? But do we really express our feelings. How often do we smile and say “I’m doing good,” when really we are having a horrible day. We often fake a smile, when inside we are falling apart. What if we started telling others how we truly feel? The bible say, that two are better than one. We are better off when we have a friend with us to see us through our dark times. I am not saying that we should go around telling everyone our struggles, but we should have a friend we can go to when we need.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor, If either of them falls down, one can help the other up, but pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

      6) We should play, imagine, and dream. The imagination of a child runs rampant. A child’s imagination is limitless. A child believes he can do anything or go anywhere. Nothing is impossible. Somewhere along the way, as adults, we lose sight of our dreams. The harsh realities of life weigh us down. We become bogged down with the responsibilities and we do not have time to play or imagine. Sure we have responsibilities that we need to take seriously, but we need to take time and enjoy life as well. Just because we are responsible does not mean that we have to leave our dreams behind, or lose hope. The bible says “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12 How sick are our hearts?  Have we lost sight of our dreams? Doesn’t God want us to enjoy the life he has given us? Isn’t it possible God is the one that put the dreams in our hearts that we are so ready to let go of? How would our lives be better if we would continue to play, imagine, and dream as adults?

        7) We should stop and enjoy the beauty of life around us. Children are so in awe of their surroundings. My mom told me that once she took my cousin who was three at the time, to eat at a restaurant. When she got her food, she stopped and said “Wow, this food is so beautiful.” Children are amazed at the world around them. Somewhere along the way we lose sight of the beautiful things around us. We do not take time to appreciate beauty. Perhaps we are just too bogged down by the bad stuff in life. Maybe we tell ourselves we are too busy to appreciate the life around us. What if we spent a few minutes each day appreciating the beauty around us? How would our attitudes change if we did this?

        8) We should give to others gifts that are from our hearts. You have probably heard the expression it’s the thought that counts. No one understands that better than a child. Some of the most heartfelt and sweet gifts come from children. They give homemade cards, handpicked flowers, and drawings that have I love you written on them. They smile with deep sincerity when they give these gifts to us. What if we gave heartfelt gifts to those people in our lives that we care about?

       9) They enjoy the simple things in life.  How many times have we heard of a kid who would rather play with a box then his new expensive toy? As adults we are told that we need the best and newest of everything. We need the newest cars, clothes, phones, and technology. There is nothing wrong with having some of these things, but when did they become a necessity? Do we really need those things to make us happy?

10) We should tell the people in our lives that we love and care about them. Children are quick to tell the people they care about that they love them. With sincerity they are quick to tell others what they mean to them. Do we remember to tell the people we care about how much they mean to us? Do the people in our lives know how much we love them?

What are some of the things that you have learned from the children in your life?