Jesus called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
I have had the privlidge of sharing life with my brother and his family as they transition from Los Angels to Raleigh. They have two small girls that are clueing me into to a bit of what Jesus might have been talking about.
Let me tell you a couple stories and see if you can draw the conclusions for yourself:
When they pulled up to their new house Hannah was excited. She wanted to explore the "new house in Raleigh" and didn't sleep all night. The next day was a bit challenging to say the least. She cried herself to sleep, afriad of sharks, only wanting mommy to hold her. None of us were upset with her for crying and needing her mother's comfort. We understood, but were we willing to cry out?
In the midst of the uncertainty and change she still had a sense of adventure. She wanted to go up and down the stairs "all by myself" and find all of the neat new places to explore. It appeared that she was becoming independant, but one of her family members was always caring for her from a close distance.
Yesterday they came over to my house. I wasn't sure if it was "kid friendly" or not, but I got a picture of entering the kingdom again. We have a rock path in our front yard, she wanted to touch it with her feet, she wanted to see the back yard, she wanted to see every room and take in every detail. Then she decided to play with the front door. Opening it and closing it over and over and over again.
If you have ever been to our house, you know that our front door nob is almost falling off and a bit challenging to open for even adults at times, but she was doing a great job. Every once in a while she would slam it hard and would need my help to open it again. She would try and then say, "traci help". I would loosen it just enough for her to push it the open by herself. She would continue.
I wonder if taking in each detail, if pausing long enough to take in beauty, if crying out, if running to grace and forgiveness over and over again, if clinging to our God in times of need are things that Jesus was talking about?
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4 comments:
It's obvious that you have been listening to Jeff "I use my kids for every illustration" Ramsey speak.
I'm just kidding. I think we can see a lot our relationship with God in the parent/child relationship.
Great thoughts, Traci. It's so fantastic to have these little girls around!
hey traci,
thanks for that image. i might use it in africa.
thanks for loving us and the girls through the last week.
your bro
THIS is why i love little children so much. i feel that in experiencing life through their eyes I am in awe and wonder...needy and courageous...aware of both extreme selfishness and extreme genorosity of spirit.... and that brings me close to our Lord and to the raw need for a relationship with Him.
mishna
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