Become Like Little Children
Today, I am sharing a journal entry that I wrote back in July. I happened to come across it last week. It was very fitting because it was my youngest daughter Lily’s birthday. We gifted her a pair of cowgirl boots as that is what she had been asking for. When I saw this specific pair of boots, I knew instantly they were for her! What I didn’t know is how the Lord would speak through these boots.
Back in July I had journaled:
Thank you, Lord, for Lily. Thank you for using her to speak to me. She is such a light! I look back on the day yesterday and smile thinking of some of the things she so simply, yet confidently did. Like, saying no to a birthday party for a friend. And, later saying, “sometimes you just have to say no to your friends.” Or, how persistently she insisted on going for a walk with me (and our dog, Knight) and her enthusiasm and joy as we walked together! She was determined to walk to the end of our gravel road and back, and she did it with such hopeful and joyful expectation! And, at one point she said, “Mom, I just need to do this for my body. Inside of my body just needs this!” At the end of the night, I’m scooping her some icecream and she stops me exclaiming, “Mom! I see Jesus! And heaven!” And, she’s pointing toward the bowl of icecream believing so fully that she sees Jesus and heaven that she stops me from putting another scoop in the bowl. She points and tells me this with such awe, yet in a “matter-of-fact” kind of way. It was so precious!
Looking back, I’m thinking “wow.” The Lord is totally using her to encourage me and teach me. AND, affirm things that I already know, yet don’t full believe or live out. Yesterday, he used Lily to remind me that it is okay to say no, that our bodies need gentle movement like going for a walk, and that Jesus can be seen or found in the ordinary! Like, a bowl of icecream. Lord, help me to remember these moments so that I can continue to live more freely and with a child-like heart and faith. Help me to embrace simplicity and be open to how the Lord is revealing himself to me through my kids.
You see, so often, we think our children should be following in our footsteps. That we are meant to show them the way. And while that is certainly a role of ours, and there is certainly a time and a place for that, I believe there are many missed opportunities where we can be learning from our children. Where we can be following in their footsteps. After all, in the gospel of Mathew when Jesus’ disciples are asking him who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven his response is this:
“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. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.” Mathew 18:2-5
Lily’s new boots are a beautiful reminder to me of how the Lord wants me to follow in the footsteps of my child. To walk by faith and not by sight. To enjoy the journey! And, to not worry. After all, as a good friend pointed out, these new boots have wildflowers all over them! And, Luke 12:27-28 reads: “Look at the LILIES and how they GROW. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, HE WILL CERTAINLY CARE FOR YOU.”
