Category Archives: Children

What do you want most?

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In the days leading up to Christmas, family members focused on shopping for gifts, asking those on their list what they’d like most. Some insisted, “You don’t have to buy me anything.” Others said, “It doesn’t matter; just don’t spend too much.” Teens had long lists ready, and children changed their answers day-to-day.

When we asked 3 year old Skylar what she wanted most, her answer was always the same: “A calendar.”

“A calendar? Really?”

We asked again and again, but she stuck with her answer.

So I bought her what she asked for, a wall calendar with doggie pictures on each month. When she opened it Christmas morning, she studied the cover, turned it over and checked out the 12 different doggie pictures, then tossed it aside.

I couldn’t help but say, “Skylar, are you glad you got a calendar?”

“Sure, Grandma Midgee!” she said, reaching for a new gift.

Of course her calendar gift was more for grown-up laughs than childhood pleasure. All of us know Skylar has no concept of what a calendar is all about. The passing of time agitates adults week-to-week and day-to-day but is a non-factor with children. For example, if Skylar is asked, “When is your birthday?” she answers, “Um… I think it’s today!” We giggle at her lack of calendar savvy and remind her it’s not for 7 more months. But eventually her life will be dominated by a calendar just like the rest of us. For now, though, it’s lucky for Skylar.

Recently our family round-tabled the tabloid prediction that the world will come to an end on 12/12/12, about a year from now. Very few people will line up behind that idea, and Bible-believers understand that only God knows the exact date that time will end and calendars will become unnecessary.

But what does God think of our current obsession with charting our lives according to calendar dates? Is he laughing at us the same way we laughed at Skylar? He might be thinking, “You have the emphasis in all the wrong places.”

Maybe he wants us to believe there’s only one truly important date, the one on which time ends for each of us, whether by death or his return. Despite not being able to circle that date on a calendar, the rest of our lives would be aligned “decently and in order” if we focused on the knowledge that time will, indeed, end.

In 2012 I’ve decided to focus less intently on my wall calendar and more specifically on God’s over-arching purposes for the upcoming year. Skylar has been a good example for me: January 1st is almost here, but her doggie calendar is still in its cellophane sleeve.

“With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as you promised. I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands.” (Psalm 119:58-60)

Keep it simple.

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One of the delights of being around children is listening to their logic. Skylar, age 3, came downstairs after nap time in a pensive mood. Having spent two weeks away from her “brown house” in Florida while visiting Grandma Midgee in Michigan, her thoughts were on home.

She was thinking about the different doors at her house, counting out loud. “I have a door in front and a door in back. I have a door to my porch and one to the garage.”

“What about the door to your bedroom?” I said.

“Yes, and Micah has a door to his room, too,” she said, “and Mommy, too.”

Then her brow furrowed as she thought for a minute. “But Daddy doesn’t have a room, so Mommy shares her room with him.” Then she added, “She’s a good sharer.”

In one sense, being a thoughtful child is a confusing existence. There’s much children don’t know but are on a quest to find out, struggling to put the mental pieces together without necessarily having all the information. But as Skylar ended the above conversation, she seemed content with her own conclusion.

A child’s mind somehow resists becoming confused. Kids have an incredible ability to line up what they know, accept the facts at face value, and rise above uncertainty.

Sometimes in studying the Bible, I’ll search for the answer to a spiritual question but end up more confused than when I started. Scripture can be perplexing, resulting in doubt. But God keeps it simple for those of us who need that:

“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:12) Simple.

And, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31) Simple.

Salvation is simple, clear-cut and plain. But how about living the Christian life? That gets complicated. Maybe, though, it isn’t as problematic as we think. Maybe we’re the ones making it that way, not God.

Most of us lean into an all-or-nothing philosophy, so when he sets forth his clear-cut path toward righteousness, we aren’t happy unless we can reach perfection, which of course we never can. But shouldn’t we believe him when he says he understands and knows our spirits are willing but our flesh is weak?

Maybe we should simply take a lesson from Skylar: accept at face value those things we know to be true, then move forward without complicating the facts. Simple.

“There is no time to waste, so don’t complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple —in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things—your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.” (1 Corinthians 7:29-31 The Message)

 

 

Rubbing the Right Way

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It doesn’t take much to entertain two preschoolers. Spending money is definitely not necessary, nor is traveling long distances to get there. Little ones are thoroughly happy with a quick trip to the local discount store, especially if it includes a few minutes in the toy aisle.

This week a group of us geared up for a shopping excursion, dividing up into 3 groups when we got to the store. Three carts allowed us to fan out and buy gifts for each other while still keeping Christmas secrets. After a while, Louisa, Skylar, Micah and I ended up in the toy aisle, “just to look,” but of course we also played.

Inspecting an array of balls, trucks, dolls and gizmos, we laughed and had more fun than if we’d been at Disneyland. The unending eagerness of two young children rubbed off on us adults, and Louisa and I started to act like kids, too.

Enthusiasm for almost anything can jump from one person to another in all kinds of circumstances. For example, if I watch a cooking show, by the end of it I want to head for the kitchen to make something. If I spend time with a physical fitness buff, I want to start an exercise program.

The same is true when I spend time with God. In reading a biography of D. L. Moody, I learned he had trouble loving others, even though he tried his best. Although he was a Christian, he said he didn’t have much compassion for the lost. So he made a decision to look up the word “love” in his Bible concordance and read every reference where it appeared. By the time he was finished, his heart was bursting with love for others, and he couldn’t reach out to them fast enough, eventually becoming a globally known evangelist.

Interestingly, he acknowledged it was God’s love not his own that enabled him to love others, especially strangers. It had rubbed off on him the same way Skylar and Micah’s playfulness had rubbed off on Louisa and me. Without their jumping-up-and-down-excitement in the toy aisle, we’d have  just been two calm adults walking through the store. Because of them, we were playing.

Moody found that the truth in God’s Word rubbed off on him to the point of empowering him to love others. In the same way, the Lord offers to rub off on all of us when we spend time alongside him. After we do, we’ll be able to accomplish all kinds of God-empowered things.

By the way, yesterday Lars asked me what I’d like for Christmas. I think I’ll ask for the Barbie Hairtastic Salon.

“God is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:27, 28)