I love kids. Yes, they are cute and spontaneous and random but most of all they are free. Spending five minutes in the presence of a thriving child is like wiping the dust from our lens of life. Kids ceaselessly remind me of living in fullness, of not conforming to social standards just because they are the social standards, and of pursuing avenues knowing that failure doesn't mean the end, it just means to try a new way to traverse the avenue. Weight and pressure and worries find no corners to occupy in their little minds, which is why curiosity and adventure run rampant.
On Saturday, Kevin and I spent the good part of the day framing wedding pictures to put on our wall. Ankle deep in Ikea frames, Kevin swung open the front door with a huge grin on his face and an impending message in his eyes. He had been out running a few errands, and while walking back to our apartment, had been mobbed by the kiddos in our courtyard.
"They want you down there" Kevin said out of the blue. Gaze shifted from still frames of suited Kevin to a live and active frame of my husband's laughing face. "Huh?" I retorted, surprised the kids were asking for me. Evidently the following transpired....
four year old JT: "Kevin, where's your sister?"
Kev: "My sister? That's my wife!"
JT: "Oh"...long pondering pause...."where's your wife?"
Kev: "She's at the house"
JT: "Why?"
Kev: "She's working on stuff"
JT: "Oh, well can you tell her that she needs to come down here?"
Kev: Very amused "Sure I will"
I giggled at the exchange (sister, wife, gringa- didn't seem to matter who I was, they wanted me to come play). There wasn't really a choice- I was being summoned by a four year old so what could I really do? It was freezing outside (a rarity in southern California), and I put on gloves and bundled up. Kev and I trooped down, and our little friends were huddled on the sidewalk dancing around a new toy car Brian had just received. Their eyes fell on us gringos, and the next thing we knew we were dancing too.
An hour was spent with these five little cowboys, playing and racing in a 30 foot radius where grass meets sidewalk. Relay races were on hand- backwards, forwards, sideways- you name it we relayed it. Tag came along naturally, red faced and wind chapped we were having the time of our lives. The boys demonstrated their ninja kicks, and JT's declaration that "I'm good at everything I do" sent Kevin and I into a fit of laughter. Of course he wasn't the best at tag or ninja kicks, and come to think of it he came in last on the races. But loses don't define greatness, so in our hearts and his, he was great. No arguments there.
Departing the scene an hour later, smiles and contentment were in order. My heart was filled with something beautiful, but whatever it was in that moment, I was relishing not analyzing. However today was filled with more introspection- how could playing tag and racing small ones brim the soul? And then I was reminded of Jesus' words in Matthew 18:3 when he said "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Somehow in the span between childhood and adulthood something begins to choke us, to take a part of our very core, and to deform the freedom inside of us. If the kingdom of God is essentially 'everything that God wants to happen, happens', then I would surmise that God is not a fan of this chokehold. In fact, bondage is not an option for the child of God, for he is committed to setting the captives free.
Kids seem to lack fear, anxiety and depression for the most part. For goodness sake, most kids will leap into a pool even when they don't know how to swim. My niece Sienna has no fear- she can't swim but she jumps anyway. But then I realized, she is fearless because her daddy is waiting with open arms to catch her. And that's the way God wants us I think. He wants us to know him so well, that we can rest and hang up our fears, and laugh and play and jump and ninja kick with the best of them.
I was encouraged to realize that if God wants us to become more like children, then I think he's telling us to laugh more, let go of things quicker, be confident in who we are in HIM (even when we are not the best, much like JT), and to embrace life and others like the cowboys embraced us gringos. To be ok if life changes or I fall down. If i'm a child, then I know my daddy is there, and if I know my daddy is there, there is just no reason to fear at all. At all.
Let's be kids again, ok? I think it will be more fun, and maybe just maybe, we'll begin to approach our Creator with new eyes to see the most creative way we can run this relay race for Him:)
Happy Monday everyone:)
Love Katie
