“And Jesus called a little
child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Verily I say
unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall
not enter into the kingdom of heaven.’” Matthew 18:2-3
I was chatting with
my cousin this morning, catching up on what is happening with our families. She commented on a particular breakfast
phrase that her youngest had spoken this morning. It was a cute child’s phrase, and my cousin
wasn’t ready to correct her daughter just yet.
She was relishing on the last bit of the toddler phase of her youngest
daughter. Then we continued the
discussion about the older kids and their individual successes. Each of the kids carving their own little
niches, from the middle school/junior high achievements to the academic
triumphs of her oldest, a 1st year college student. My cousin and her husband, were already
making the discovery that “my child(ren) are reaching a point in life where
they can function without me.”
Every parent of a
teen and older knows what I am talking about.
One day, they are holding on tight to you and before you know it, they
hit that “let me do it” stage. I know
that my wife, Megan, feels these moments when it comes to her own child. For the better part of my stepson’s life, it
has just been him and his mother. (I just
recently became part of this little family, at his current age of 12.) While he still has learning to do and
parental guidance to receive, he is taking on more of life’s responsibilities
on his own. Megan would readily agree
that it is tough to let our kids go, letting them do the things that we have
constantly done for them. It’s a
realization that we have to let them grow up.
We, as parents, were meant to teach and pass on knowledge. If we attempt to hold them back, our kids
will pull away. So, we must let them
grow, whether we are ready for it, or not.
We, in turn, are
meant to learn from our children. They
have the one thing that we no longer possess: the power of innocence. Right and wrong are defined as simplistic “good
or bad” situations, not yet made complex by the understanding of sin. A child’s mind is not ready for such heavier
responsibilities. While I may be new to
the realm of parenthood, I can say from my years of teaching young kids, we rue
the day that our kids become aware to the higher realm of good versus
evil. Innocence is the most beautiful
aspect that they have. It’s difficult to
see the point of life in which that changes.
“Let the little
children come to me,” Jesus said to His disciples. He also instructed them (and us) that we need
to be like children if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven. We need to return to some of that very
child-like innocence. We need to lean on
our heavenly Father to continue to teach us and guide us. It may be difficult to admit that we, as
adults, still need to be led. It’s not
something that we were made to do on our own.
Just as our own children will continue to need us as they continue to
grow, for different levels of guidance, so we continue to need spiritual
guidance every day of our lives.
Enjoy the early years of your children, but let them grow as necessary. Remember, as
you are teaching them to grow, to learn from their youthful experiences.
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