There
are a million reasons why children have less-than-perfect childhoods. Some of those reasons stretch back
generations and others are due to selfish choices made by grown ups today. I’m not
called to judge those issues or reasons, but I frequently find it painful and
sad to view the effect on the kids.
Sometimes
those situations tear my heart out. I
was engaged in a discussion on the front porch of a house that shelters four
children aged 2 to 11. The adults in
their lives are broken, as I am, fragmented both by choices they have made and
situations beyond their control. The
discussion was stressful.
The three smaller ones were sent in to watch Tom and Jerry. Mom was seated facing the big living room
window, as I was, while another child had her back to it.
A
little face with huge green eyes appeared as the six year old wiggled her body
under the curtain at the living room window.
The weather was warm and the window had fogged from the air conditioning
inside. Very carefully and very seriously
she drew a huge heart in the condensation, looked solemnly out at her mother
and pointed an index finger toward her.
If
only we could do that. If only we could
try to pour love over the stress and the chaos, as she tried to do. Right now, all I think that my little sweetheart should have to worry about is going down the slide.
“And
a little child shall lead them.” Isaiah
11:6
Jesus said, "Let the little children
come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such
as these." Mathew 19:14
