Childlike

What excites you?

Me,

I am tickled pink with a new book,

 a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup to dunk it in,

a day with nothing to do,

a Sunday nap,

and

a weekend retreat to the mountains, especially when it’s snowing!

 Getting excited about something, anything, evokes a childlike feeling, doesn’t it?

Do you, or can you, remember being so excited as a child that you talked a mile a minute or couldn’t sit still?

Sure you do.

We all can.

My Aunt Alice lived in California when I was a little girl, and she only came home to West Virginia once a year, maybe two. But when she did, I wrapped myself around her tighter than a banjo string! I loved her so much, still do, and she loved me.

She never tired of me being in her face or climbing unto her lap. She always made me feel special.

I loved the way she smelled, too, fancy-like, you know, like the fragrance counter at a high-end department store.

She made such an impression on me back then that I wanted to be like her.

Children are easily impressed, and they have big imaginations and dreams, don’t they?

As adults, we never know when a child, be it our own, or a stranger’s, looks to us for encouragement, mentorship, love, or friendship.

My four-year-old great-niece wore me out climbing in and out of my lap at Christmas.

She jumped up and down and twirled around and around, giggling. Her long blonde hair fanning out like angel’s wings.

“Look Aunt T, look at me!”

How could I ignore such innocence?

As I watched her, I traveled back to my own childhood – She was me forty-six years ago, begging Aunt Alice to look at me.

Funny how life evokes childlike feelings and memories, isn’t it?

Being an adult is hard. There are many responsibilities.

I am not ashamed to admit that I enjoy feeling childlike at times.

What a gift!

The Bible encourages us to be childlike in our faith if we want to enter into the kingdom of God:

Matthew 18:3 says: