Tag Archives: children

Day 18/31: Hands

“And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.” Matthew 19:15 (NLT)

Day 18: Hands #writetogether31days

She very delicately held the small, red spheres in her petite hands.  One by one she examined them carefully, rolling them gently between her thumb and finger. Then, as if they were treasured friends, she softly laid each one individually on the bottom of the bucket. 

Children have a special way of seeing the world. That was one of my favorite parts of teaching and of this time spent in the vines. Picking cherry tomatoes with my young grand-niece was a gift and seeing them through her eyes opened mine.

As I stood watching that sweet girl’s deliberate, unhurried way, I thought about how I’d have done the picking. Without really looking at them, I would have plucked those little things quickly off their stems, dropped them carelessly in the bucket, and moved on quickly to get the job done. Is that how you would have done it too?

As He often does, God prompted me to ponder something important through those curious, attentive, little hands: “What am I missing?” 

“One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.’ ”
Matthew 19:13-14 (NLT)

Goodness, I can relate to those disciples! Can’t you just see them? Without really looking at those around them, they’d been picking their way through the crowd all day, moving people through the line to see Jesus. Then these parents show up with their children and the disciples just want to quickly finish up so, they try to send them all away. What were they missing? 

“About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?’ Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.’”
Matthew 18:2-4 (NLT)

Just as God did with me, He was using a child to open the disciples eyes so they could really see and He wants the same for you, too. “Those who are like these children.” “Become like little children.” What are we missing?

Somehow when it’s been a minute since we were children ourselves, we tend to forget what it was like. Do you see what we, like the disciples can miss? I think this is what Jesus is teaching us. Lay all our adult stuff aside and simply believe. Then we will see things through the eyes of a child of God, loving others, looking for the joy, leading with a giving heart, and reveling in all the wonder of small, everyday things….like cherry tomatoes delicately held in our hands.

Wise Wednesday ~ 3/8/17

“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”‘
Matthew 19:14 (NIV)

Time With Carson

My soul can get weary.  Been there? For me, it’s the striving I think.  Maybe it’s the same for you or maybe something else takes its toll on your soul. No matter how it gets that way, having a drained soul weighs you down. Joy is hard to find. Peace seems out of reach. And the energy to love as we should? Not there, disconnected, out of order.

I found myself in just such a place not too long ago. While blessings abounded around me, inside that most sacred place I felt hollow. It’s not that I’m ungrateful for all I have or don’t recognize God working in my life: I am and I do.  It may be those very things that shout and echo against the walls of my tired soul; “God has abundantly blessed you so Do more! Be more!” And then I don’t……I’m not…..My soul sighs.

It so happens that at the very time my soul felt depleted, I was privileged to babysit my wonderful grandson, Carson!  It may have appeared that I was taking care of him, but from milk and Mickey first thing in the morning until bedtime stories and goodnight prayers at the end of the day, Carson was mending my soul.

“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 (NIV)

Who’d have guessed that playing at the park, throwing sticks in a pond, or a walk along the creek would revive my tired soul? I watched as he stooped low to get an up close look at moss growing on a rock, spotted a bird gliding high across the sky, laughed at leaves on the wind, nestled in a pile of well loved blankets to fall asleep, and when afraid to go down the slide alone? He kept his eyes on me, let go of the sides, and sailed down into my waiting arms!

“Change and become like little children.” My time with Carson reminded me to: like him, engage in the world around me, find joy in little things, rest in the knowledge that I am loved, and most importantly:  to take my eyes off myself, loosen the grip I have on wanting control, and trust that even when I’m not sure what’s waiting for me; I know WHO’s waiting for me!

Children really DO heal our souls if we’ll only watch, listen, and learn to humble ourselves to become more like them.  Of course, this MiMi thinks Carson is the cutest, smartest, strongest, most talented child of all! (I’m sure you know one of those too!) When he puts his little hand in mine and looks up at me with his perfect tiny toothed grin my heart overflows with unconditional love and I want nothing more than to be sure he knows he’s treasured! And isn’t that just like God? He waits for us to put our hand with childlike wonder in his, look to him, and to know without a doubt that we are precious and loved.  To become more like a child, HIS child……now that’s refreshing to the soul!