“I
assure you that if you don’t turn your lives around and become like this little
child, you will definitely not enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who humble
themselves like this little child will be the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven.” Matthew 18: 3-4
My
friend, Katie, tells a wonderful story about how her faith in the power of
prayer was solidified when she was six years old. You see, Katie wanted a pet
turtle. She had begged her parents to get her a turtle for weeks. You don’t
know Katie like I do, but I can tell you that when she wants something badly
enough, she can be pretty persistent. Tired of all the begging and whining, her
dad told her that she should ask God for a turtle in Sunday school that morning,
and if God wanted her to have a turtle, he would give her one. So, that’s
exactly what she did. That same afternoon, as her father pulled the car into
their neighborhood after church, he had to brake suddenly to avoid hitting a
turtle that was crossing the street. He stopped, looked at Katie, stepped out
of the car, picked up the turtle, and placed it gently into Katie’s waiting
hands. To her six-year-old understanding, God had given her what she had asked
him for that morning. There were no strings attached, no elaborate prayers, and
no questions as to whether or not she deserved to have her prayer answered. She
asked; he answered.
Wouldn’t
it be great if we could always retain that child-like faith, even after we have
grown up and made everything more complicated than it has to be? Have you ever
paid attention to what your kids bring home from Sunday school or preschool? I
don’t mean the handprint Christmas trees or the fingerprint hearts. I’m talking
about the messages written on them. They’re so simple, and they have to be for
our children to understand them, but what if we just listened to what our
children told us about God, and let that guide our faith?
I’d like to
share some sage wisdom that my precious three-year-old has provided in our “car
talks” after church.
·
“God
loves me!” Yes! God loves us the same way we love our children. I mean,
he’s our dad. But, we doubt sometimes. We doubt that we deserve his love or his
mercy because we’ve said or done something that we might think makes us
unlovable. Think about it, though. Is there anything your children could ever
do to make you stop loving them or refuse to forgive them? God is your parent.
You can’t mess up enough for him to turn his back on you. He loves you too
much.
·
“God made
me special!” That still goes for us grown-ups, too. We start early,
comparing ourselves to other people. It’s part of our culture and it gets us
all at some point. As moms, we often compare ourselves to other moms and that
can be dangerous. “So-and-so must be a really
great mom since her kids are so well-dressed/quiet/good
eaters/well-behaved/smart/athletic/you name it.” “Oh, she’s so much more
patient/firm/affectionate/put-together/whatever than I am.” We really don’t
need to fall into that trap. God made you the mom you are because he knew
exactly what kind of mom your child would need. You are special because you are
who God wants you to be, not who he
wants her to be.
·
“If we
talk to God, he listens.” Sometimes it feels like our prayers are bouncing
off the ceiling like a rubber ball. They’re not. He is listening. I promise.
Just because we don’t get our way when we want it, does not mean he didn’t hear
us. Trust him.
Have faith, friends. God made you
and your kids for each other. Even on the worst days, you are still your
children’s favorite mommy in the whole wide world.
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