Still A Child

My sister, Kay, sat at my kitchen table, and began to give me the doctor’s report on her daughter, Tiffani. My daughter, Lauren, soon joined us. She was returning from her job where, in her words, she “labored on Labor Day.”

Suddenly I heard a familiar sound and announced, “The ice cream man.” Lauren and Kay raced out of the house, and I followed them. “Don’t forget Tiffani,” I shouted. If the prescription and IV fluids she received at urgent care didn’t help, maybe a “cartoon character-shaped ice cream on a stick” would.

The following night ended with my husband and I stopping at the store after the quarterback club meeting. Victoria needed to make a poster. I walked in, grabbed twenty poster boards (to be prepared for the next time), a gallon of milk, and was headed to the register when Michael announced a detour. “Let’s go down the ice cream aisle. Every time I shop I check to see if Blue Bell has any new flavors.” Yes, that really happened.

You might think we are all in our second childhoods, but that’s impossible because we have quite obviously have never left our first. Now that could be a good thing. Jesus thought so much of childlike natures that He used a little child to illustrate a big truth about His kingdom. While the disciples were jockeying for position, Jesus called a child to stand among them, and said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-4)

What did Jesus mean when He said that we must become like little children? Well, probably nothing to do with a love of ice cream, but everything to do with trust and humility, characteristics which abound in precious young lives. Just as children are dependent upon their parents, I believe that Jesus wants us to totally trust that He will not only meet our daily needs, but be there, already waiting for us, when tomorrow arrives.

Children also trust that parents will do what they say they’ll do, without thought as to how it will happen. I believe Jesus wants me to trust in His Word, whether or not I fully understand His ways.

I cannot resist a child who stands before me and holds up his arms, begging me to lift him from where he is, and take him to heights he cannot achieve on his own. While I am limited, Jesus can do the impossible. When I humbly reach up to Him, He faithfully responds.

Although we can never recapture our childhood, we can change and return to the humility and trust we had as a child. And I think it’s okay if we also find joy in simple pleasures, like ice cream.