A friend was sharing with me recently that her four-year-old granddaughter is learning to pray. One night before she went to bed, she was saying her prayers and began talking to God. She raised her head up to Heaven and began shouting out her prayer. In exasperation, the little girl said, “Nana, I’m trying to talk to God, but he isn’t listening, he isn’t saying anything back to me, he won’t answer.”
Not sure how to answer, the grandmother tried to tell her granddaughter to be patient, and to trust that God will answer her in time. A week later the little girl told her Nana that God does listen. Her Nana replied, “How does God listen?” The little girl said, “God listens because He talks to me when I read the Bible.”
As my friend was sharing this story, the following verse came to my mind, “And he said: “I tell you the truth unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3 This little girl had recognized the greatest gift of all, that God does listen, we might just need to open up our Bibles to hear what he has to say.
The older I get, the more I realize that as parents we spend so much time teaching our children, and yet there are so many times when our children can teach us if we are willing to listen. Our children are optimistic they have no fear in tomorrow because they live in the moment of today. That’s a very powerful lesson to learn. Childlike faith means, no questions asked, just believe because I can. Do you have that same level of faith? Do you trust, believe, even when you don’t see or hear God?
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3: 5-6
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When our children were in elementary school I began participating in a program called, “Academic Volunteers”. The goal of the program was to include members of the community in the educational process of children attending school by volunteering to assist teachers in the classroom.
On one particular day I was volunteering in a 3rd grade class, I worked with several students on a math worksheet, then assisted several other students with their “word work”, which was basically helping them to sort their words into known sounds. As I was walking to my next class I noticed a young 3rd grade boy sitting outside his classroom. I could tell by his posture that he was struggling with his assignment, so I asked him if he needed any help.
With a big smile on his face, he said, “Sure, I could use some help, my teacher sent me outside of the class because I didn’t finish my homework. I just didn’t understand what to do, so I didn’t finish it.” I grabbed a chair and sat beside him for a few minutes. Together we read the instructions and then began to tackle the math problems. To be honest, I’m not exactly a math wizard, and the “new math” at the time was not something I was not used to dealing with, but we gave it a good effort and by the time his math class was over, we were able to complete the assignment. He was so grateful that he could go back to class with his completed homework, he said a heartfelt, “thank you.”
As I continued to volunteer at the school, I would notice him out in the hallway quite often. Of course each time I saw him, I would stop by and check to see if he needed help and would spend just a few minutes guiding him back to his assignment and keeping him focused on the task at hand. He was always so easy to talk with and just seemed to need a comforting voice to encourage him.
On occasion we would see each other out shopping at the grocery store and he would be so delighted to see me. Just seeing the smile on his face made all the difference in the world. Something so simple as taking the time to ask, listen and make a difference in someone’s life, perhaps that’s worth so much more than we give it credit.
As the years went by, our paths would continue to cross. One day I was walking through our neighborhood and I saw a car with two people inside slowing down as it came close to where I was walking. The car stopped and the driver rolled down the window, it was the same little boy I had worked with years ago, but now he was so excited, he called out, “Hey, I’m getting my driver’s license soon, I’m practicing driving.” It was so wonderful to see him and to see what progress he had made in his life. One simple act of kindness had made an impact on his life, and mine too.
A few years later we would see each other again, he was graduating from high school and was preparing to go to college. Wow, from this little boy who struggled with his elementary school homework, to this amazing young man heading off to college, he was growing up. He shared with me his dream of a career in the government and was looking forward to attending a local college in the fall. My heart beamed with pride for him.
Four years later, we would see each other again and he told me that he would be graduating from college soon. In addition, he had secured an internship with the United States Air Force that would be starting after his graduation. He had made his dream come true!
A simple act of kindness, asking someone if they need help. You never know what lasting impact your kindness will have on someone. I don’t know if I will ever see this young man again, but I know that he will make a difference in this world, he will take the time to ask, listen and make a difference in someone’s life because someone did that for him.
Never think that you cannot make a difference, it doesn’t take a lot to do something extra, it does however take a thought. Take a moment today to recognize how you can make a difference, in your own home, in your community, and in your world.
Hebrews 13:1-2 commands us to “Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Ask, Listen and Make a difference!
“I tried to teach my child with books,
He only gave me puzzled looks
I tried to teach my child with words,
They passed him by often unheard
Despairingly I turned aside, “How shall I teach this child?” I cried
Into my hand he placed the key, “Come” he said, “And play with me.”
Anonymous
Perhaps the poem above best describes the last few months for many parents who were dealing with “homeschooling” their child. The “puzzled looks”, the “unheard” words, all made for long days of frustration and exhaustion and yet sometimes the best way for a parent to “teach” their child through playing.
As the weather turns warmer and summer returns, spend some time playing outside with your child. Play, such a simple and inexpensive thing to do with your child but one that reaps many rewards.
The word play is defined as engaging in an activity for enjoyment and recreation. Play is any activity that is done by a child for the pure joy of it and having fun!
When was the last time you actually had fun playing with your child? This does not include playing a video game or playing some sort of game on an electronic device. No this means going outside or staying inside if necessary, and creating a game just for the fun of it. Playing hide and go seek, or making a tent out of blankets, building with blocks or Legos. Any activity that brings you and your child joy just for the pure enjoyment of it can be such a special bonding time.
Play teaches your child many important life lessons
Play teaches your child many important life lessons, for instance when you play a game, you have to take turns, be cooperative, and sometimes playing requires strategies. There are other times when play is simply just having fun, like sliding down the slide, building a sandcastle in the sandbox or swinging on the playground. (As our current conditions allow, be safe at the playgrounds).
One of our children’s favorite activities to do in the summer was to play badminton. We would set up our net in the backyard. Then with racquets in hand, we would start out seeing how many times we could keep the birdie going back and forth across the net. Then as the birdie got higher and higher up in the sky it became a battle of the arms to see who could hit the birdie the highest. Next, the laughter would begin as we struggled to even see the birdie, much less hit it over the net. Just having fun and hearing your child laugh, that’s what makes spending time with your child so fantastic.
Depending on how competitive a person you are, play can be a little tricky, but when you play with your children, there are always winners. It is a win/win situation. Parents win by spending time with their children and children win by spending time with their parents.
There is a lyric to a children’s song that says, “Let the children be children, it’s ok to be a kid for awhile, let the children be children, please make it last.” It really is ok to be a child for a while, as we all know children grow up way too quickly, savor each precious moment.
Jesus even commands us to become like children in order to enter into the kingdom of God. Luke 18:16-17 says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Try to remember what it was like to have no worries about bills, stress at work, house payments, car insurance, etc. and just be at peace with the world and have fun, go out and play. Throw a Frisbee, play croquet, toss a football, kick a soccer ball, jump rope, skip around the block, do something fun that will make you and your child laugh. It will be such a blessing to you and your family. A joyful heart really is good medicine!
Have a happy day!
Peace
Priscilla
