Like a Child

We made it! The Polar Vortex of 2019 has passed and the sun is out – at least until next week’s forecasted snowfall. You know what they say, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait a day.”  I was one of the lucky ones who were able to stay indoors and work from my dining room table during the bitter cold. My husband and oldest son were out in the elements keeping the livestock happy. Other than coming in and commenting the obvious, “It’s really cold out there!” they didn’t say too much about it. On Thursday morning I had to remind Evan to zip up his coat before heading out. He seemed completely oblivious to the cold temperature on the other side of the threshold. Even with my coat fully zipped and mittens on, I had to give myself a pep talk just to open the door!

A friend of mine stopped by my office this week and commented that she saw some younger kids running down the sidewalk without any gloves on and coats hanging wide open. “How do they do that” she asked. I assured her I wasn’t sure either, but kids seem pretty resilient to extreme temps. I’m sure we’ve all commented on the fact that kids don’t seem as easily chilled as we adults. Kids can play outside in the snow for hours in soaking wet snow pants and gloves and not think twice about it. All I have to say about it is, “Brrrrrr!”

The innocence of a child is pretty special. I am fortunate to experience this innocence both at home and here at church on a weekly basis. Watching children learn about the world around them is great, but there is nothing more exciting than watching them learn about their Savior. As they sit and listen to what the  teacher is saying you can almost see the gears in their mind turning. It is such a wonderful feeling within the soul to observe them drinking in the information and believing it without question. Something us adults could all take a lesson from; just simply listen, trust, and believe. No questions, no reasoning, and no arguing otherwise.

The gospels speak about this childlike faith and instruct us adults to take note. The disciples had been arguing about unimportant issues and lost sight of what really mattered. “3[Jesus said to them], ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.’” (Matt. 18:3-5)

When Jesus spoke of becoming like a child, he wasn’t speaking of their maturity, but rather their humble and sincere hearts. The disciples had become so preoccupied with the things and statuses of this world that they had lost sight of the Kingdom of God. May the same not be so of us; rather may we humbly look at a child’s faith in awe and in wonder as we seek to serve our Great Master with full dependency on him. Let’s throw off the gloves and unzip our winter jacket and experience all that God has for us.

Becky Ossefoort

 

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