Childlike Faith

"...Oh Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!"

Just for today, be like a child. Don't worry. Don't rack your brain trying to figure "it" all out, whatever "it" may be. If you don't have children, find some and just watch how they interact (be careful not to look creepy though or else the 5-0 be rolling up on you...and don't go blamin' me!). If you have children, study them carefully. They don't worry about ANYTHING AT ALL.

When was the last time you heard a kid say, "Hey, what's going on in the economy today?" "Wow, look at the price of gas!" "How are we gonna pay the electric bill?" "Will you have money to buy me shoes in a few months?" I have NEVER heard my kids ask any of those questions...EVER. I have one that will be 22 soon, a 16, 15, and 12 year old and they were never worried about a thing.

Let me focus on my youngest guy. During our hardest financial time, he would come up to us and ask for stuff. I would reply, "Son, we cannot afford that right now." He would say, "Oh yeah, I know, but I just wanted you to know I wanted this." He was not rude. He was not demanding. He was just matter-of-fact. And something about the way he said it made me feel that this kid knew he would get what he asked for.

Because we spoil him? NO way. Trust me. Believe it or not, he has gotten more discipline than any of the others because he likes to test us to our limits. So he has lost weekends of play, tv time, cell phone time, and more in the realm of discipline. Yet, he knows that we are mom and dad and we love him deeply. We know this because of the way he so freely asks for things.

He asks knowing in his heart that his parents desire to bless him. He doesn't let anything hinder him from "at least asking" as he puts it. This moves my heart deeply, to know that my son will ask me for anything no matter what is going on. I believe our Father in heaven is the same exact way.

Today, even if for only one hour, practice being a kid. Rid yourself of worry, anger, resentment, anxiety, fears...just be a happy-go-lucky kid. "Well, Sister Christian, I don't think yer bein' ver' responsible..after all..we do hafta be mature and all, ya know, we are s'pose to get off milk..and eat meat.." Some people say the dumbest things, don't they? The LORD desires that His children come as children! Even that is too simple to grasp for us "mature adults"!

So do it. One hour. Be a kid. Forget about it all. I'm not talking doing illegal things or things that are contrary to the Word. Stop that! But be a child in the presence of your Daddy. Sit back and close your eyes. Imagine you and Abba splashing in a river together, just having fun. Imagine riding go-carts together, or playing basketball, or anything that YOU would love to do with GOD. You will be amazed at the freedom that comes with this type of thinking.

God desires that we have life to the fullest. He wants us to live free of worry. He wants us to give all our cares and burdens to Him. Why? So that we will be able to do what we were created to do-love and worship the Creator.

Take the time to be childlike today. It's the hardest thing to do, but the rewards are great. Try to make this a daily habit. And before you know it, life won't be choking you to death with all of it's problems. Children have very resilient spirits and can bounce back from even the most vicious of assaults..because of their inner gift to trust easily. God wants this from us.

Gotta go...gonna saddle up a horse and go ride with Daddy. (well, not really, but I am gonna lay back and think about it!)

XtremeFaith