The wonder of children
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| "Time Zippy" by Stephen Rolfe Powell At the Boyle County Public Library |
Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. ~Rabindranath Tagore
I love working in that area, because there’s a heater, a plug and it’s actually decently cozy for an entranceway. The other day, I was sitting there working as children came in. Several, actually, came through while I was there, walking in with their families. Each one seemed more amazed at the balloons than the one before.
I’ve no way of knowing how often those kids came into the library, but each looked at the glass balloons as if it were their first time seeing them.
Isn’t it amazing how kids are amazed by everything? I loved seeing their little eyes light up in awe as they saw all the colors hanging from the ceiling. Some would exclaim, “WOW!” or something similar as they walked in the door. And they almost always dragged behind their parents or grandparents and they stumbled in, pausing to stare up.
I’ve been through the library entrance a million times and I sit in there quite often.
Noticing the reactions of the children, it struck me how I had become so used to the balloons that I never stopped to really look at them anymore.
I never take the time to admire how the light from the sun shines through the glass in a way that it really seems the glass balloons are helium balloons, simply floating in the ceiling. I rarely notice the pattern, how there are rows of color, except a few, which have purple and red balloons or yellow and red or blue and red in their own patterns.
I never just take in the beauty of the balloons or consider how much work had to go into creating them.
And that struck me as a bigger moment of thought. How often do we go through our lives without taking time to pause at the beauty God has created? Do we notice the birds as they fly through the sky, the flowers as they pop up in expected and unexpected places, or the sunset, painted by the hand of God?
[Side note: Sunset photos are some of my favorite to try to photograph. And yet, their beauty is never quite captured on film (or however you get your photos these days) in a way that does them justice.]
Do we remember to pause at the smile of a child, the wagging tail of a dog, or the purr of a cat?
Instead of noticing the beauty of God, we get too bogged down in the world. We focus so heavily on getting all of our “to-dos” checked off the list, that we forget to take time for the “ta-das.”
We become like Martha, so wrapped up in our work that we forget to take time to be like Mary, taking in the moments with God.
“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’” ~Luke 10:38-42
Martha was so focused on her worldly tasks, she forgot to focus on the most important eternal one.
I always wondered how Martha felt in that moment. I know a lot of Marthas in my life — I am a Martha sometimes. We’re the kind who get so caught up in making sure the meal is prepped, the house is ready, the kids are scrubbed clean, the details of the day are hammered out, that we forget to enjoy the day.
I think the world would be a little haphazard if the world were full of just Marys, too. Nothing would ever get done and we’d all just sit and be in the moment.
There’d never be clean dishes.
(Maybe I’m more like Mary than I realized!)
But there has to be a balance.
Marthas of the world have to learn to not just prepare the food or plan the events — they have to learn to sit in the moment and enjoy the events. They can’t just prepare the house for a party, they need to actually visit with the people at the party.
Marys of the world need to help out, too. But they have to help the Marthas take a break and enjoy the gifts from God.
There are other reasons we miss out on God’s beauty. Sometimes, it’s worry and stress that drives us. This one gets me a lot, too.
“And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans pursue all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.” ~Matthew 6:28-34
Lately, a Biblical story I’ve focused on a lot has been that of the Israelites wandering through the wilderness. They worried about what food they would eat and God provided. On multiple occasions, God provided.
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.” ~Exodus 16:4
God provides what we need everyday. We simply must trust him.
Sometimes, we don’t. Some of the Israelites didn’t. The story continues:
“When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, 'What is it?' For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, 'It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’' The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat. Moses said to them, “Let no man leave any of it until morning.” But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.” ~Exodus 16:15-20
They had to learn to trust Him. And we have to trust Him. In doing so, we can rid ourselves of those worries and see the beauty God provides.
Trust me, I know that’s hard. Life is hard — bills are never-ending, there’s always more month than money and for some reason we have to eat multiple times a day. That’s just the basic worries, never mind the additional stressors of life.
But we must trust that God will provide.
And, sometimes, I think, it’s that we just become so accustomed and hardened by the world that we lose sight of those little moments.
We become like the disciples, who thought that God wouldn’t want to be bothered by the likes of little children.
“People were bringing the little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.When Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.' And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them, and blessed them.”~ Mark 10:13-16
God loves children. There’s an innocence of children — they see the truth whether we realize it or not.
But the best part? They see the beauty in the simple things.
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