THROUGH the EYES of A child

This week is Vacation Bible School at our church.  I always look forward to this time of year.  The energy is running high, there's children's voices in every part of the church, and the outside is full of warm evening air and dancing lightning bugs. 

Sometimes it is easy to just focus on getting the lesson taught, the songs sung, and the snack fed to the bouncing tiggers seated around me.  I tend to forget that these little minds should be my teachers.

Perhaps I should try to put myself in their tiny butterfly sandals and see through their eyes again.  Adulthood has a way of changing a person....we tell ourselves it is for the better....but sometimes I really wonder if that is true?  What could I really learn if I would get down on their level? 

The little boy that won't stay quiet while I'm teaching the lesson isn't afraid to talk to anyone.  Why do I hesitate to start a conversation with people that make me feel uncomfortable?

The little girl that is randomly coloring on everything but what she should be has learned that sometimes black and white routines need a bit of rainbow.  Why do I settle for using blacks and browns instead of coloring with crayola "mango tango" and "electric lime" on the things that God calls me to do?

The quiet child that I tend to overlook has maybe just seen her parents fight or her siblings do drugs.  Why do I get slightly irritated at the defensive wall she has built instead of caring about her fears and heartaches?

The boy that stands gazing at the ducks, regardless of the fact that his teacher is in a hurry, has found that sometimes you learn more by observing than by rushing.  Why do I always scurry around loudly and frantically when I could be enjoying the small joys of life?

The girl that always grabs her teacher's hand when we go for a walk has discovered that friendship is one of the best things in life.  Why do I take my friends for granted and pick out their flaws instead of their good points?

Isn't it interesting that Jesus says that we must become as little children to enter the kingdom of Heaven?

If God could give me their eyes for just a little while, maybe I could see life more clearly.  Maybe I could feel their hurts- and see what they are going through- and start to actually care more about them as individuals than if we get our papers glued properly. 

Maybe I would adapt some of that childlike humility and joy and love if I could see through the eyes of a child.