Through the Eyes of a Child

This week it's just been Windsor and me. Emily took Addi on vacation and we miss Addi a lot!! But it has been nice spending my days with only Windsor and being able to give her some one on one time. I have been taking care of Windsor since she was 3 months old. And as a nanny, one of the greatest blessings you can receive is starting when a child is a baby. You get to watch them grow and change from the beginning and makes bonding to one another an easier process. I've been fortunate to have several children in which I began keeping them in their first few months. And I've had the pleasure of working with MANY children in my year teaching preschool and years as a nanny. Not to mention the kids I have worked with in church. And in the time that I have spent working with children, I have been reminded time and again of what true joy really is. Watching Windsor this week has inspired me to write about joy and appreciating the simple things.

We went for a short walk yesterday and today. A neighbor has this pink flag in their yard and she loves to look at it. She noticed how it rained (the water sprinklers had been on and the ground was still wet). She marveled at how the wind was blowing so strongly. Both days, when we returned, we sat on the front porch for a while. She played. With no toys. She just played. And sang. And chattered. She looked at bugs and said "Hi Bug! How you doing?!" It doesn't seem to matter what she is doing, Windsor has fun. And she laughs. And just enjoys it. Today after we left the front porch, she went to play in her 'kiddie' pool. And you know what she did? She filled up a cup with water and went around the yard pouring it out. That's all she did. And she loved it! At lunch time, I put ketchup on her plate and she said "Thank you for ketchup."

Jesus tells us that children are excellent examples in faith. "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" found in Matthew 18:4. And Mark 10:15 says "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." We must have faith as a child.

How many grown-ups are grateful for ketchup? How many of us talk to bugs and have fun pouring water out of a cup? Do we ever just notice how refreshing the wind is on a hot day? God has blessed our lives with simple pleasures and so often we overlook them. People who love us, the freedom to worship the True Living God and fellowship with other believers, food in our bellies (though most of us should choose more wisely about what food we put in our bellies, including myself), a car to get us back and forth to work, a JOB (that most of us complain about), a place to lay our head at night. God promises that He will provide for us. "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" found in Matthew 6:26. But many of us have been blessed with so much more than just necessities. And yet we complain. And we don't take pleasure in the basics. According to www.bread.org there are 1.02 BILLION people in the world who are hungry. That's 1 in 6 people according to www.wfp.org. And yet we get upset when our cell phones act up! We're not promised another day, another hour, another second in this world. James 4:14, 15 says "Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."

Let's take what opportunity we have NOW to appreciate what God has done for us. Let's make the most of those little moments that we take for granted every day. Thank God everyday for what He's blessed you with. Psalm 47:6 "Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!" Thank God for what He did on the Cross at Calvary! That He gave us opportunity for salvation. And ALL we have to do is "Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved." Romans 10:9 Isn't that incredible? So simple a CHILD could understand (and many do! Praise God!).

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15