And Little Children.....

Matthew 11:25 (NIV) At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 

Ahhhhh.....summer! The days are warmer and longer. Time to catch up with family and friends. Cook-outs. Potlucks. Graduations. Summer is also the time when many churches hold VBS (Vacation Bible School). School's out.....BUT we never stop learning.....or shouldn't anyway. 

VBS....such a busy time, so much planning, so many volunteers needed.....but, oh so worth it! 

Our church splits the kids into groups with a variety of ages in each group. My kids are older so I forget how interesting it is to sit and talk/listen to 4 and 5 year olds. They get so excited. They haven't learned classroom rules much yet, so when they are asked a question even just to think about, they answer....loudly. They like to share the things they do know....even if it does not pertain to the subject....in the way we're talking about it.  (ex. Noah and the Ark....kid: My friend's dad has a boat.)

There was one little boy in our group who got extra excited and liked to share. "Did you know Noah's Ark was bigger than the Titantic?" He would almost steal the conversation. The other adults and I would smile at each other. I would quietly start edging up and put my hand on his back to get his attention and tell him he could tell me later. We only had 10-15 minutes for story time. However, as the nights continued and we would review the story, I would also feel kind of bad because I did not want to squash his excitement! He was so cute and so sincere it was impossible to get too frustrated with him. By Wednesday night, he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I love you!". On Thursday night, he shared that he knew he had Jesus in his heart and would go to heaven.

Oh my. Sometimes as an adult I am not that excited or that secure in my faith. The learning continues......

Matthew 19:14 (NIV) Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Snuggle Saturdays

This Saturday, I stayed laying in bed for a few extra minutes. I usually do not have this luxury because I stay up too late and when I do wake up in the AM I need to rush around and get ready to do whatever it is I'm supposed to be doing for the day. It's worse in the summer because most of the time we don't "have" to be anywhere at a certain time.

So on Saturday, my mind drifted back to many years ago when our kids were little. We would have "snuggle Saturdays". They would come in our room when they woke up and all 4 of us would snuggle and talk and tickle and laugh. I REALLY miss that. I'm getting teary just remembering. Now, our kids are teens. They are getting to the point they talk to us if they have to (especially in public or in front of their friends).....or if they need something.

People - you know "older" people - like in their 40's (gasp!) when we were young parents would tell us that time goes by quickly. ENJOY time with our kids. They'll be out of the house before you know it. We listened....kind of....like in one ear and out the other. Those precious minutes became days and months and years of seemingly mundane everyday life.

You know what? Now that I am an "older" person, they were right. Some of those times were wasted because of frustration on our part....trying to make THEM "hurry up". We don't need to look at every bug, cloud, _____ fill in the blank when we're trying to get somewhere. BUT some of those minutes were Snuggle Saturdays. A time when we slowed down enough to realize how important those times are.

The other timely bonus of this past Saturday was getting to spend the day with our nephews and niece. I was there at nap time and bed time.  I got the privilege of holding them as they drifted off to sleep. I held on a little longer realizing that time is already flying by with them. 

It is a lot easier not to get frustrated when the kids are not your own. It is unfortunate that the time we usually have children is in the middle of our income earning potential. A time when we have places to go and people to see. Sometimes our kids seem like they are in the way during those times.  A time that seems like they will never get out of diapers or sleep through the night or get up for school or come home on time from that date.

Even if your kids are grown or you have not been a parent, you are still important in the life of a child. Find a kid to snuggle....even if it is not literally snuggling. If you have the advantage of being at a different stage of life than an overwhelmed parent, offer to give them a break. A time to get away briefly to come back refreshed and ready for the next round of stopping to look at a bug when they need to get somewhere. Time to get a little of that wonder back for them....and you. It really does go by faster than we think.

Matthew 19:13-14 (NIV) The Little Children and Jesus 13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. 14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.