I will never forget very special moments when our children were little! Some stand out more than others. One particular incident makes me smile to this day!!!
It was a Friday afternoon and Brewer and Thomas were over at my friend Aimee’s house. It was typical for our kids to have friends over or they would go to a friend’s house and play outside until dark. On that particular Friday, Aimee called me and could not catch her breath. She was literally laughing and crying at the same time. Seriously, it took her 8 to 10 minutes to have a lull and compose herself so that she could tell me the story.
If you know Aimee, well, you will not be surprised that she was preparing a meal for someone who was sick. There was a posse of boys in her back yard playing hard while she cooked. She was making rice and gravy and had a “hen” in the oven when, out of the blue, Thomas, who was 5 at the time, ran in for a drink. He took a deep breath and started gagging. Aimee ran to him and said, “T! What’s wrong? Are you sick??????” In his 5 year old gagging voice he replied, “NO mamma, your kitchen breath just stinks!” hahahaha…. It may not be as funny to you, the reader, but we still howl over Thomas’ describing the smell in Aimee’s kitchen.
Another story I read the other day was of a dentist who had cleaned a 5 year old’s teeth and then walked the little boy back to his mom in the waiting room. As he watched the 5 year old struggle to pull open the heavy, oak door, the dentist asked, “It’s heavy isn’t it?” And the little boy replied, “Yes sir! Is that so children can’t escape?” LOL!!! I love the innocence of children. As they are growing and learning, the way they see and describe the world is precious and funny!!!!!
It makes me think of the story in the Bible where Jesus points out the innocence of a child. Jesus had been healing and preaching. Word had spread about this man, Jesus. People were bringing their children to Jesus just to be touched by him. The disciples saw this and brushed them away from Jesus. I love what Jesus said in Luke 18:16, “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.”
You may have heard it said that you only need to have “child-like faith!” to know Jesus. I love this! It is true!!! Sometimes we try to make knowing Jesus complicated. Some people like to make it seem complicated as an excuse to reject Jesus! A bunch of do’s and don’ts. I urge you to have “child-like” faith. It only takes that kind of simple, innocent faith to have your life changed forever. To become a Christian you don’t have to know the Bible inside out or have grown up in church, or have the knowledge of a long-time church goer or preacher………to demonstrate child-like faith…to come to Jesus………. It just takes an innocent, unpretentious step of faith.