Daily Wisdom for Women - February 6, 2023

 February 6, 2023 - Like Children and Babies   "From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise."  Matthew 21: 26

Two things came to mind when I read this today:

One is that children lose their innocence so quickly.  Landon and I were just talking about this over the weekend.  We were reminiscing about his baseball team that did so well in the summer of 2018, the year we moved.  The boys all played together.  They wanted to win.  They didn't care who played where or how many runs someone got or if they played the entire game or had to sit in the dugout for a few innings.  They were excited for each other and with each other.  Then things changed.  Much of the influence came from the parents---pulling their sons to play on better teams.  Going the 'travel team' route.  Instilling in some of the boys that they were better than the others.  They started to compete with each other rather be together.  If some didn't play any more or pursued different sports or became involved with other things (like 4-H or Boy Scouts), then they were made fun of. Now Landon tells stories of how the 'basketball boys' thinks they are better than others, they bully both boys and girls, they make fun of others who work hard and are successful in other sports or in the classroom.  What happens?  I shared with Landon some of my seniors' observations when we were reading to the K-3 classes at West Central Elementary as part of our Children's Lit unit in Short Stories class.  The kindergartners were so sweet and loved being read to.  They would crowd up to the reader, often wanting to sit in the reader's lap.  First graders didn't care which groups they were in; they just liked being read to.  By the time we moved into second grade, the students were fussing a little if they weren't in the same group as their friends. Third graders?  The least favorite of all of the grades because they had 'attitudes' and would sometimes act bored and ask "Do we HAVE to do this?"  What happened?  What changes to the innocence of those 5 year olds?  Are some of us as adults like those 3rd graders who suddenly think "Why do we have to do this?" when it comes to our worship time?  Are we too much with ourselves and the impressions we make to become like little children during our worship?

The other thing is that God just doesn't care about what we wear, our hairstyles, or our professions because to Him, we are all the same.  I know I taught at a small school in a small rural community.   Everyone knew everyone else, it seemed.  My children went to school with my students, and their friends were in my classes.   When Gary and I were baptized at the Christian Church, Jim nixed my preference for a private baptism, suggesting that a public baptism would show my students that their teacher was a believer.  It also seemed strange to me, at first, to watch my husband and my principal/superintendent serving communion, to watch Chuck sing during the service, and to pray.  It is always different to see someone we are used to seeing in a special place doing what they do, doing something different.  It also contradicts the attributes others often assign to those in roles of authority.  Chuck was not a devil nor was he Hitler.  Those names were assigned to him by people who didn't like the decisions he made that were not in their favor or went against what they wanted.    God doesn't care about our roles in life (how important we are); he is concerned about our faith and our obedience to Him.

Call forth your grace from my heart, Lord.  I want my life to be constantly connected to you, both on the inside and on the outside.  Amen.