Lessons from a Child

Having my grand daughter around all the time has given me all kinds of glimpses back to my past when my own children were as young as Halle is now. The thing that makes me feel the greatest is the way she runs to me after I get home from work. She can hear the car door slam shut as I make my way to the front door. Wherever she is in the house she hears the door knob turn and she knows instantly it's Grandpa coming through that door. She's been walking for about a month now and it's all she can do to walk as fast as she can through the house to greet me at the door. She'll stumble and fall two or three times walking to the door because she's so excited to see me, she's practically running and she's just not coordinated enough to run yet.

She always has this wonderful smile on her face as she sees me walk through the door and of course she knows the first thing I'm going to do is shout out her name then pick her up and give her a great big hug and kiss. It's the same routine every day! It's wonderful.

Think about these things for a moment...

• She's not able to talk yet, so she can't tell me she loves me... but I know she loves me because she shows me every day in the way she behaves, in the way she acts towards me, in the way she runs to me with her eyes all excited, in the way she laughs and smiles at me when I pick her up. Her love for me is shown, it's felt, and it's appreciated so much.


• She forgets easily, she doesn't hold grudges like we as adults do. If she was told "No," and she gets in trouble and her feelings get hurt or she throws a fit, as soon as it's over and we smile at each other again or hug each other again, all is forgotten. We begin again.


• She runs to me because she's that excited to see me! Do we treat our children the same way, do we treat our wives or husbands the same way. It's nice to be loved so much that when you walk in the door, someones extremely happy to see you. That's a wonderful kind of love isn't it?


• Hugs are great. I found out that I miss those hugs. My own children have grown and we hug less often now. With my granddaughter in the house and since I'm hugging her all the time I've noticed I hug my wife more lately, even my son more lately. I just realized I wasn't hugging much anymore until my grand daughter reminded me of how important this is. It's the best way to show love and appreciation for those you really care about.

The lessons are endless when I think about the love of a child. One very important truth is their love is unconditional. They simply love you, they're simply happy just being with you, you are the joy of their life.

I imagine that how God's love is for us, unconditional, happy being with us, and we are the joy of His life. But do we respond to our heavenly Father like my grand daughter or even my children did towards me when they were little? Do we run to him? Do we get excited about being with him? Do we smile and laugh with joy when we sense or feel his presence? Or have we become like most children that have grown older?... Have we lost our interest, have we become more focused on ourselves rather than God? As children grow they become independent, they begin to seek less and less advice or at least they begin to listen to less and less advice it' seems. You know, I believe the secret to a loving relationship is "DEPENDENCE." You see when we remain dependent on one another we value and love one another. But in our Independence, we risk going our own way, making our own decisions, and eventually we quit thinking to ask for advice anymore. We stop seeking council, and we've lost our childlike innocence.

As I watch my grand daughter, I realize again how important a smile, a hug, a kiss, and laughter is to knowing that you have love in your life. I've always known it, I just simply showed it less often lately.

Thank you Lord Jesus for the gift of my Grand Daughter. What a reminder of Your love she is.

Steve