I hope my last blog was not too intense.
My husband said to me after reading it,
“wow… you must have been mad.”
Well… yes I was…
and still feel angry that children so often have little choice as to what their lives will include or be involved in.
Big people make decisions and little people have to abide by them no matter if they like it or not.
As a child advocate I feel it is important to see the world through the eyes of the children.
As a grandma I get to see this many times as I watch and observe the mixed bag of feelings of the little ones. Often times I can give a different opinion because I am grandma, and a voice of experience. I am not a tired parent I am grandma with a ‘different point of view.’
When I was little and growing up I remember feeling
like ‘I had no voice.’ I really didn’t. None of us did.
We moved many times and we had no choice.
You just followed and did as you were told.
We changed schools many times and learned to adapt in order to survive.
Life is not fair for the little ones.
Perhaps that is why Jesus made such a strong opinion about them.
He was a child advocate.
He used them as an example because he knew they believed without question.
Sometimes as an adult it would be good for us to put down our adult ‘world’ and try to see the world through their eyes.
When I have a toddler around I get on the floor and try to see their worldview as a little one always looking up.
It is very different than looking down.
Try it sometime you will be amazed.
It is a perspective of smallness of lack of ability and of needing help.
I am short and often times I have to ask for help when trying to reach tall things.
Little ones are not that different.
They need our help. They need our guidance.
They need our time to listen and understand their point of view.
They don’t always ask in a way that we think is appropriate.
They just want us to be available.
I am not saying give them their way always.
That would be wrong and would not teach responsibility or obedience.
But I am saying we need to think of the children.
Next time when you are out in a public store look at ‘the faces’
listen to the dialogue around them and look in their eyes.
Learn to put yourself in their place and ask yourself how you would feel.
Take time to listen to the precious ones.
I think it is very important to play and let them know they are very important to us.
As adults we don’t do that often enough. Let the child run and express joy.
Perhaps we can learn something from them in the process.
(picture is of Faith at age 3 running freely as a child in our favorite place ~ the beach)
