Jesus Loves the Little Children

I know I mainly post things about kids and about getting older. I guess those are the two things that are on my mind the most.

Working with kids and now having grandkids living with us, I get to see kids fall down about 10 times a day. Once in a while there are tears, but most of the time there is just a brief, stunned look and then they jump up and start running w/ those untied shoelaces again. Yesterday my granddaughter ran right into a glass-topped table and fell. The impact shook the house- everything on the table went flying across the room and my heart got stuck in my throat because I just knew she was really hurt. Then we heard a little “woops” and she got back up and kept on going like nothing happened. It’s a cliché, but kids are really so resilient. When we fall down as adults, it is much more traumatic. Well, it is for me, anyway.

Last night I fell into the bathtub. I don’t mean I slipped down onto my tush. No- this was a headfirst, “saw my whole life flash before my eyes”, “I didn’t even KNOW I could do the splits!”, “glad there aren’t any villagers around because HERE COMES THE TSUNAMI!” kind of fall. My forehead hit the tub hard, my limbs got all tangled up, water splashed all over the bathroom, and I just knew I had a concussion, a broken leg and other bad stuff. Afterward I sat there with the water still running and didn’t move for a full five minutes, trying to figure out if I was alive or not. Anyway – turns out I’m just a little bruised up and a bit sore today. Thank goodness because it could have been much worse.

I guess my point is – kids get over things a lot quicker than we do. They get mad and have harsh words with their best friend, and an hour later it’s forgotten. Grown-ups don’t seem to be able to do the same thing. I’ve seen people throw away 20-year friendships over a quarrel. I’ve seen people become estranged from close family members because of a disagreement.

Jesus tells us – if we want to go to heaven, we have to become like children. It doesn’t mean we have to be innocent and naïve – that’s hard to do in this world. It means we need to get over stuff- be forgiving of others. Give love freely. My granddaughter brings me “flowers” (actually weeds w/ a tiny flower on them) every time she goes outside. Kids are very loving and giving. Sure, sometimes they can be selfish and petty, but they usually feel very guilty about it afterward. That’s called being penitent.

Kids are very observant. Although at times they seem like they don’t know anybody else is in the world, they also notice everything about you sometimes. Sometimes they notice TOO much. But it makes me realize, sometimes I go all day without really noticing other people the way I should. We adults often stay so wrapped up in ourselves we forget to look around and see who ELSE might have problems. Kids, on the other hand, love to help others. Sure – most of the time their “help” is more of a nuisance, but they mean well. Grandson Brayden loves to fold clothes. The other night he folded towels, washcloths and dishtowels and spent the next half hour asking me where he should put EACH one – one at a time. Sure I could have done it in 5 minutes myself, but he loves to help. I’m sure he’ll get over it by the time he’s old enough to be a REAL help, but still – it’s very sweet.

So – I guess the message is- I’m going to try to be more childlike, ‘cause I want to go to Heaven one of these days. (Although I’m not ready to get on the bus just yet.)

Advertisement

---