| Being Childlike [message #1855] |
Fri, 04 January 2013 21:07  |
Claymore
Messages: 6
Registered: December 2012
Location: Florida
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Junior Member |
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I was just pondering upon an experience I had with my son this past Christmas season that had me wondering what does it mean to truly be "Childlike". Here's the story:
My 3 year old son is BIG into trains right now, so for Christmas my wife purchased a train ornament for him to place on the tree. He was so thrilled and would constantly go up to the tree, get our attention, and point to his ornament. We were so pleased that a small item brought such joy to his life. The next morning, to my wife's and my surprise, we found that our son had made a ladder out of several boxes and had been trying to scale the tree for his train. We laughed, got him down and took apart his makeshift ladder. The next morning we discovered that he again had found the boxes, made his ladder and successfully got his train down. We were amazed! We then took the train from him, put it higher on the tree, torn down his ladder and actually broke down the boxes. We the proceeded to explain to him that what he was doing was dangerous and he should not continue to do so. We thought that had ended it...we were wrong.
The next morning my son had stealthy pulled a chair from the dining room and was in the process of using it to climb onto the window sill to get his train. We were not amused. The train went higher on the tree. My son then turned to the laundry hamper. After a few more days of finding our son doing this we had to put the train in "time out" for a while. Due to his incessant pleadings, eventually we decided to put the train back on the tree. It's final resting place was just below the angel on an 8' tree. I now had to pick my son up so he could look at his train. Did that stop him from trying to get to his train? No it didn't. He still tried without any success until we took the tree down.
I never had the heart to scold him or punish him aside from a brief, daily lecture about how the train needed to stay on the tree and that he should try to get it. How could I? My son's persistence was something I would never want to take from him. With that kind of persistence my son would be able to accomplish anything in life! I am still in awe at his tireless pursuit of what he desired most. Now only if I could teach him to transition his desire from that train to the Savior...
I believe this is just one trait that makes up many that is bundled into the expression "be childlike". Thanks for letting me share my story. I hope you all found it as amusing as I have.
Does anyone have any examples of amazing things a child has done that can teach me(us) what it mean to truly be childlike?
Claymore
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| Re: Being Childlike [message #1925 is a reply to message #1855] |
Sat, 12 January 2013 11:07  |
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rdwhitaker
Messages: 118
Registered: December 2012
Location: Vancouver, Washington
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Senior Member |
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When our children were in elementary school, the city school district formed a "Magnet School." The idea was to bus middle class kids from the suburbs to attend school in the inner city. They offered the best teachers, equipment and programs to be found anywhere, and it worked. We sent our kids to this school. I was a little concerned about exposing our children to some of the more negative elements of society. The school was surrounded by poverty, with serious gang and drug activity. Many of the inner city school children had grown up in an environment of neglect, abuse, rage, and combativeness.
One day my 5th grade son came home upset because another student had been picking on him and they got into a fight. I immediately suspected it was an "us versus them" situation, black versus white, etc. So I tried to find out more about the incident. I asked my son if the other boy involved was black or hispanic. My son just stared at me blankly, and then said, "I don't know! He's just Jimmy!"
In their innocence, children do not see race, skin color and such differences. They just see people. Simple.
Ryan
Don't . . . Quit . . . Trying!!
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| Re: Being Childlike [message #1971 is a reply to message #1855] |
Tue, 15 January 2013 09:00 |
Claymore
Messages: 6
Registered: December 2012
Location: Florida
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Junior Member |
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Ryan,
What a great lesson! I know that I don't classify my children in any way and I'm sure our Father doesn't do the same. Why do we segregate and classify ourselves in ways of wealth, ethnicity, etc., when all that does is cause us to inhibit our love and cause us to judge unrighteously? Thanks for the story. I will definitely have to write it down and apply.
Claymore
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