But the bible also says, "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 18:3
This morning as I was getting the kids ready for another exciting day here at home, Willa did something that really touched me and made me think. Now this is what plays out on a daily basis, it's not that it's never happened because it does all the time. Just this morning I was struck with thoughts that went through my mind. For those of you who don't know us and stumble on this blog you should know that Eli our oldest is 3yrs old. Willa will be 2 next week, they are very close in age (just shy of 17mo apart). Before getting the kids up I had gone down and started dinner in the crock pot and fixed their cups of milk. I had gotten Eli up first as I normally do and took off his diaper and had him put on his underwear. (Still not night time potty trained). He then followed me into Willa's room like he normally does, still holding his underwear. I got her up and changed and set her on the floor. Willa ran down the hall and stairs as Eli was putting his underwear on at the top of the stairs. Willa found their cups sitting at the bottom of the stairs and instead of just grabbing hers and drinking from it she grabbed his first. Of course he started whining about her having HIS milk, but she quickly (and without putting it in her mouth) turned around and brought it up the stairs to him with a huge grin and handed to him saying "Here E-I". Then went down and got hers and began to drink, after reminding Eli he needed to tell Willa thank you (which they are normally very good about anyway) I got to thinking.
Like I said at the beginning in Psalms 51:5 it talks about how we were shapen in iniquity, and in sin we were conceived. We are born sinful, it's in our nature true. We see this play out in our toddlers on a daily basis, they argue, fight, throw tantrums and disobey. But despite that we are daily reminded that even though we are all sinners we are still born with the natural instinct to love and be loved. We are BORN loving, we are not born selfish, hateful or racist. In Matthew 18:3 it talks about unless we become like children, we can not enter into heaven. I find that interesting, that while the bible is clear that we are born sinners that at the same time the kingdom of heaven belongs to the little children and those that are "like" them. It's speaking to the innocence of children and I believe it also speaks to the nature of children.
This couldn't be more clear then watching a baby turn and look for his/her mother shortly after birth. The baby already loves his/her mother. Baby has already bonded with mother in the womb, as the baby gets older he/she will smile, giggle and enjoy snuggling. Out of love a baby or child will seek comfort when scared, hurt or sick. Even as toddlers they already start to show compassion, love and selflessness.
Now I'm not saying we haven't worked hard with our kids to be polite, well behaved and so forth. We have worked hard (and are still working) to get them to say please and thank you every time, or to say excuse me when certain bodily functions happen. Even at the age of 2 (almost) Willa is expected (with help) to ask to be excused from the dinner table. That is our jobs as parents, however at such a young age they are already capable of being kind... On their own, sure we lead by example and try to teach them the best we can but the pure selflessness that I watched Willa display is not something that I have taught her. It's something I believe she (and all kids) were born with.
At this age it is imperative that we help cultivate such actions, instead of allowing Eli to just grab the cup out of her hand and push her away (which he didn't even try) I watched as he gently took the cup from her while I praised her for being so sweet and caring. Then I gently reminded Eli "Tell Willa Thank you" to which he quickly said "Thank you Willa". Praising and encouraging good behavior such as this and correcting the sinful behavior is important at this age and every age.
Of course this isn't the only time one of the kids has done something nice for someone or each other, I could tell you story after story of their acts of kindness. The fact that Eli always wants to make sure if he gets something special that Willa does too. Or the sharing of a toy, or handing Eli his sippy cup. Things like this happen daily in our lives.
In this day and age of selfishness, rudeness and entitlement it is refreshing to see such caring acts happen. We have a responsibility to continue to lead by example and to teach our kids to continue to be kind to others. Instead a lot of parents don't, so many parents teach kids to be selfish and rude. Today's society we teach them they are entitled to something for nothing and that is simply not true. Yes they are already sinners, but if we continue to lead them and encourage the good behavior then maybe our world can be turned around. We should be teaching our children to build one another up and not tear each other down.
It makes me think that if EVERY parent would cultivate this behavior in their children we wouldn't have the bullies, murders, hate, and conflicts of this world. Our children are our future, we need to put aside our own selfish desires (myself included) to help raise them to better society.
May one day this picture of love and peace will be a common every day sight in our world. This is a picture taken just a couple of weeks ago. Willa loves and adores her big brother and he her, this is true innocence and love. They at such a young age are showing me what the love of Christ is really like.
