The Bully and Me

Do you have a bully in your life?  I do.  She is 5 years old and I gave birth to her.  Yes, you see I made this little purse the other day (in one of my creative moments) and before I could even look at it or show it to my husband, it had been claimed for the Land of Leenie.  Not just in name only.  She brought it to the dinner table and hung it on the post of the chair; after being excused, she snatched her new accessory and hung it on the back of her door.
Well, I never.....okay, I have coveted things other people have (or made....you should see the list of sewing blogs on my bookmark page).  My daughter has a collection of purses--they are cheap at second-hand stores or given as hand-me-downs.  They even have their dad's former wallet in that room somewhere.  What drives us to this?  She is 5 and it didn't start three days ago with a home-made purse.  This innate quality, shall we say, is born in us or rather born with us.  We spend so much time wanting and hoping to have or be that we don't live with what we got.  I would never want someone's children (charming as they might be) in exchange for my own.  They are God's gift to me and I accept that and accept them because of that.
I think that is where it starts and stops for most of us...we fail to realize ALL is given by God, not just the eternal things, but the temporal, too.  If I viewed what I had as from God AND what others have as been given from God I believe it would help to suppress the bully in me.
Now, where did she put that purse......

Childlike

Yesterday my 5-year-old and I were planting potatoes in the garden.  As a hole was dug by my shovel, a little potato was flung by a small hand into the dirt.  We planted a decent number of hills; enough for a small crop in our newly tilled plot.  After her bath that night, she asked while looking out the window, "Is it growing?"  "The tree?" I replied, thinking she was referring to the Arbor Day tree her sister brought off the school bus with her.  "No, the 'tatoes!"  "Yes, they are growing; growing in the ground and soon [hopefully] they will be growing so we can see them."  "When do we pick them?", she inquired.  "After you start kindergarden.  One day we will dig up the plants that come and will be potatoes in the ground underneath."  Fast forward to this morning when she hopped out of the bed, shoved the curtain over, pulled up the blinds, peered into the morning, "They aren't growing yet."

I tried to explain they are in the ground getting ready to grow and soon we will see the plants, and later the actual fruit (or in this case, vegetable) of our labor.  Her anticipation for seeing the potatoes grow overnight is typical of children.  The innocent impatience, the excited giddiness that accompanies getting even small tasks and chores accomplished.

I have heard many things said of a "childlike faith", to come to Jesus as the children did with "simple faith".  In reality I don't think there is a more complex AND simplistic idea than faith, but that is not where I am headed for each of us is given "a measure of faith". Most of us lack the other childlike component I believe Jesus revered--anticipation!  To think that potatoes will sprout up overnight like the beanstalk of fairy tales is integral to having a child's outlook.

Instead of performing our "Christian" duties with druggery and snarling, shouldn't we be like children?  Looking  forward to the Lord's outcome?  Seems to me we allow the necessary, but anchor-heavy temperance of realism bring our outlook to the basement.  We cannot live just like children after our maturity begins or especially after having children of our own.  Bills need to be paid, ideas for dinner must appear on the table, and responsibilities met.  We can retain, or minimally regain, an aspect of childhood--anticipation!

I urge you, the next time to go the Lord in prayer, bring your childlike faith anticipation!