Called to Be Childlike
Written by: Missy Wilson, Co-Founder of myLIFEspeaks
Listen to the audio/podcast version, here.
You can learn a lot by spending time with children. I have known this for some time now but was reminded of it again just the other day. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. I was hanging around the house after watching church online here in Haiti and I had the thought to take Nash to play over on the soccer field close to where we live. I text a friend around 11:30 am and asked if she and her daughters would like to join us. We planned to meet up at 2 pm that afternoon.
From 11:30 until 1:50 pm Nash must have asked me 20+ times the following question... “Is it time to go to the soccer field to play?” to which I would respond with a simple “No, not yet.” Then I would continue with what I was doing. Then the question would come again just minutes later. “Is it time to go to the soccer field to play?” Again, I responded, “No, not yet.”
Then I began to ask myself “Why can he not understand we are not going right now? But we will be going later!” I continued with a few chores and the question continued to come with the same answer to follow. FINALLY, it was time to go, we collected our toys and headed out to meet our friends at the field. As we were walking the trail, we met up with our friend and her daughters and she began to tell me she had made a huge mistake by telling her girls earlier in the day that we were going to play. She said they, as Nash had done, continued to ask over and over again if it was time. I shared with her the same story from my house and we both laughed at the excitement the kids had just to go play in the field.
As the kids began running on the hills, playing with their toys, jumping up and down, and kicking the ball, their energy and excitement slowly started to fade. They began to ask for water, ask to sit down, and rest awhile. They even asked to lay down and take a little nap (that didn’t last long...LOL). The afternoon continued on with more games, more sweat, and even a few small tears but overall it was a terrific day of play.
I learned something from the kids that day though, I learned we are so much like children wanting an answer from God right away. We continually ask him for an answer: “Is it time? Can we go now? Can this happen now? And oftentimes God says “No, not yet”. We may continue to ask but it isn’t until His perfect timing, we will receive the answer.
Even if we often receive what we have asked God for, the excitement doesn’t always stay the same. We begin to grow weary, tired, and need rest. This is exactly how God designed us: to come back to Him. To let him rest our souls, be the water which will never run dry, to be the everything we need at the very moment we need it.
I am sure I could have learned a lot more from the kids that day and I will make sure to pay closer attention next time because there is a reason God said in Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Their excitement, consistency, and passion to play that day is how I should long for heaven. I should be seeking and hoping for that day with anticipation like nothing else. I should be asking Jesus “Is it time?” and even when He answers “No, not yet,” I should be preparing myself daily to live a LIFE seeking HIM.