I have been a minister for almost thirteen years, and I have been a Christian for far longer than that. However, I have learned more about kingdom living in the past six years of being a mother than I have in that entire time altogether.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly, I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:14-15).
Something about what children know instinctively about the kingdom is somehow forgotten as we grow up and allow the world to teach us otherwise. The following are some of the gems I have picked up from my children over the last few years.
Whether we enter a restaurant or head to the park, eyes around us always swiftly count my children. Some even squint to assess just how old my husband and I are. Usually, when people see a lot of children, they immediately assume it’s a great burden to bear. I have four children and had all of them by the time I was 30.
A home is meant to be a sanctuary, a place to be at peace and to freely commune with God. But many do not feel that their dwelling place is God’s dwelling place.
There was an incident at the mall today. While any busy consumer would have easily passed this family by, I wasn’t in a hurry today, so I witnessed the event play out.
When the holiday season rolls around, I have found that many young families feel the pressure to “do the season right.” It begins with this ideal in your head. You imagine your children happily decorating a Christmas tree. You envision cheerful Christmas card photos. There are traditions to build, parties to attend, and pictures to take. However, any holiday that has a heavy emphasis on gifts and sugar can be a recipe for disaster, especially for families with young children.
Out of the four children I have, one of them is a two-year-old girl. She is the apple of my eye and makes my heart smile every day. She is the quirkiest and most humorous young lady. But no amount of positive attributes can hide the fact that she is still a two-year-old. It’s the transition year where they grow from being blabbering blobs to becoming self-expressing, opinionated children. They have all these emotions but very little words. They have all these desires but zero experiential knowledge. That’s why it’s typically called the Terrible Twos (although I would never go so far to call it quite that).