I’ve been told many times by many people that I’ve never grown up. Matthew 18:3 says, …“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” I take the scriptures seriously! Really, we do need to be more like children. They aren’t prejudice, they don’t care what color someone’s skin is…unless they’ve been taught to. My granddaughters live in a very diverse area. They are always telling me about their friends and classmates at school. When they mentioned a not so common name I told them I liked that name and I had never heard it before. Their response was, “Me neither, and she’s really nice Granny. She has brown skin and she’s just beautiful.”
They find joy in the simple things. Like getting an ice cream cone. Have you really noticed the excitement on a child’s face when they get ice cream, especially if they get to order it themself? Pure, unadulterated joy!!
Have you really paid attention to the things children find beauty in? My middle granddaughter especially, is always making comments about how pretty someone looks when we are out in public. “Doesn’t she look pretty in that dress/blouse? Her face is so pretty.” I’m not talking about one of her family members, I mean complete strangers she sees walking down the street, in a store or restaurant. I’m here to tell you that the women she says look pretty are definitely not the ones that Hollywood defines as pretty….by a long shot! Her mother always tells her that if she gets the chance, to be sure and tell these people that she thinks they look pretty. Everyone needs to hear that once in a while.
But children also have a faith like so many of us don’t. I remember several months ago one of my little neighbor boys wanted a dog. His parents had talked about maybe getting one, and one day his dad brought home a dog. Needless to say, the boy was elated. He said he knew he’d get a dog because he prayed so hard to God for one.
It would be good for us if every day, for just a little while, we tried to look at life through the eyes of a child. Just for a little while, forget about all the adult things and problems. Maybe if we did that, it would become a habit. Maybe after a while, we could do it for longer periods of time. Maybe we would stop worrying about things so much, things that aren’t changed by worry anyway. Be honest, how many times have you said you’d like to go back and be a kid again and forget adulting? Give it a try!
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6,7