The day before our family left for home, our church group drove around to Sand Harbor and when we arrived I obstinately refused to put any sun screen on my legs, insisting to my mother that they "never" burned. What rubbish. I spent the whole day running around "tanning" with my friends, taking a nap on the beach and almost bashing my head in while exploring the lake's slippery (and highly reflective) rock formations. By the time we headed back to camp I felt like Katniss Everdeen: The Girl On FIRE. And I mean that in the most unpoetic way possible. My legs were in flaming agony. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain but when my mom tried to put green Aloe goo on my legs I writhed about uncontrollably. Lesson learned: don't ignore your mom's warnings. More on what I learned about that later. Needless to say, the sun humbled me.
That evening, as I simmered miserably in a reclining beach chair near our campfire, our camp neighbors bustled over hoping to get down to the business of marshmallow roasting. When I say neighbors I want to emphasize the pluralness of the word. The family roosting next to us consisted of a mother, father and nine children. Upon discovering my condition, the small fry crowded around me and patted me gently and offered to sit on my lap if that would make me feel better. One of the younger girls asked me if it hurt to which I responded, "Yes." Sunburns make me succinct. Looking up at me with big blue eyes the size of saucers, she replied hopefully, "Well maybe it will be all done in the morning!" Whatever parts of me the sun had left intact melted instantly in the blaze of cuteness.
I had spent the previous days traipsing around with this gang rediscovering my love of "playing Indians", cooking hearty stews of moss and tree bark all while escaping the *gasp* boooyyysss, who circled our forest kitchen on bicycles obviously plotting grand schemes against us. I miss being 8. This family clustered around me at chapel time and pleaded for piggy back rides in the afternoons. After dark they cuddled into their fuzzy jackets, sipping hot chocolate and begging for "jussstt ONE more!" s'more. Never once did I see a serious fight break out between them while they eagerly jumped to perform any task their parents requested of them. I found them irresistible. Apparently, others did not.
I'm not a Bible expert and I don't claim to be. But it does seem to me that 1: God really cares about children; and 2: We can learn some things from them. How much do you expect to learn from kids if you'll only hang out with them when you're getting paid? (May I point out that that money has no eternal value.) I started thinking about learning from children and began to wonder, "Well, what DID I learn from them?" Once I thought about it, I found too many things to count. But I'll try.
I don't want to point fingers here, but at least 6 different people asked me if someone paid me to play with the kids. This doesn't include all those who assumed they were my younger siblings who I was obligated to take care of. At first I found this slightly amusing. Then it seemed a little strange and finally it started bothering me. No one, no one thought that I might simply enjoy spending time with those younger than me.
"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, 'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. [...] See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven [...] So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." -Matthew 18:1-6, 10, 14.
"But Jesus called them to him, saying, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." -Luke 18:16-17
- They gave me unlimited compassion. Over the week I suffered from both back pain and the sunburn. No matter what was going on the kids always wanted to help in any way they knew how. All the adults and teenagers I knew, excluding my amazing mother, only laughed at or criticized me. When is the last time I gave someone some compassion without a measure of judgement? Unfortunately, I can't remember.
- They were unreservedly generous. Eagerly, the offered me food, water, a chair out of the way of smoke, a more comfy chair, a larger chair, even more chocolate and anything else they had on hand. I usually give people things expecting at least some kind of "Thank you" in return instead of selflessly seeking the comfort of others.
- They lived in innocent exuberance. One night, a neighboring woman offered each child a glow stick to play with in the dark. They were so excited. Compared to their shining eyes, the sticks seemed dim. They couldn't stop saying thank you, inquiring who had what color and developing hide and seek games with the toys. God has given me a LOT of things in life. Come to think of it, He has given me EVERYTHING in life including life itself. I don't live with the wildly jubilant gratitude that these children do. If those kids could get overjoyed for hours about a short lived plastic stick that emits a small amount of light then I can certainly muster up a little gladness that my Redeemer lives, death has been defeated, I am a child of God, the Holy Spirit lives within me, etc... Its kinda pathetic that I actually can go through a day without once praising God while I gripe about how boring my life is.
So yeah.
Try for a day to look at the world through the eyes of a child. You never know what you might see.
"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. " -Ephesians 4:32 - 5:1-2
