This past weekend we babysat our granddaughter so our daughter and son-in-law could have a weekend away. So, while they celebrated my daughter’s birthday, we celebrated with Julia. Spend a weekend with a 4-month-old and you’ll be reminded, as I was, of a few things.
First of all, I have a new appreciation for Abraham and Sarah. There is a reason we have our children in our twenties and thirties, because believe me, in the fifties (let alone the nineties) we may not have the energy to survive in the long haul. It’s hard to believe how much energy one little person can take out of you.
Second, when Jesus said we must change and become like little children, He meant it. It’s not just the innocence of a child, but it is the complete trust of a little child that we must have. Julia totally trusted us to take care of her this weekend. She trusted us for food and all of her other basic needs, and when the dog barked and frightened her, she looked to us for comfort. Jesus wants the same from us. He says not to worry about what we’ll eat, what we’ll wear or what will happen tomorrow. All we need do is trust God, because He knows what we need. Trust. So simple, yet so difficult.
Lastly, I was reminded to take joy in the little things. There is nothing more wonderful than the laugh of a child. Julia found such joy in the silly faces and noises we made just so we could see her smile and hear her laugh. We found her smiling at the dog, laughing when she was jumping in her jumper-roo, and just look at the joy on her face, in the above picture, when she was “cooking”. As adults, we sometimes let the cares of this world and the busyness of life steal our joy. God has given us so much to be joyful about – from a midsummer’s breeze to His gift of salvation. The enemy loves to steal our joy, but I’ve been reminded to take it back and give God the glory for the abundant life I lead.
What about you? What brings you joy?
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