3 Lessons from 3 Littles: How Our Children Teach Us to Live with Childlike Faith

So often our focus as parents is on teaching our children, but sometimes the script gets flipped on us. Sometimes we hear the words of correction come out of our mouths and fall right back on our own conscience. Walk through my day with me as I encounter lessons God taught me from my own lips. 

My five-year-old 

“Every good and perfect gift is from above” James 1:17

“That's mine!” came the cry of my five-year-old as his younger brother held a monster truck behind his back. Generally, we have a rule in our house that all the toys are for everyone. He was not playing with it when his little brother grabbed it, and therefore, it is all fair game. I reminded him (as I always do) that nothing in this house is his; it was all bought by someone else, and it is to be shared. 

These very words of mine came back ringing in my ears during prayer while I was rocking my youngest to sleep later that day. How often do we want what others have and neglect to be grateful for what God has given us? How often do we neglect the things we are given, or are not good stewards of our money? Perhaps we misuse things for evil. We even go so far as to prioritize the pursuit of money to obtain these earthly things. But, like I said to my son, nothing on this earth is truly ours. Everything here on earth was given to us by God, and all things of this world will pass away. What we’ve been given we have for a time, and then we give it back to God. In that time, we have a responsibility to treat everything we have with gratitude, respect, and great care. 

My two-year-old

 
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” Isaiah 55:8

“Help, help!” my two-year-old cried desperately, shoving his binoculars back into my hands. Any parent of toddlers can affirm that they like things done their way, even if we know best. Long after the monster truck fight, my middle child had quickly moved on to another toy, as two-year-olds often do. He had a pair of binoculars that could be folded one way for a bigger face with wider-set eyes or another way for a smaller face. That day, he preferred neither.  The binoculars also fold a third way that closes the eye-holes for storage. He liked it that way, but he didn’t know how to fold it that way. The first few times he brought it to me, asking for help, I folded it to fit his little face so he could look through it. He became upset and continued to ask for help in a more panicked manner. I tried folding it a big-kid way that would be too big for his eyes, but he could still potentially see. He continued to give them back to me, asking “help, help” with more intensity. I could sense a temper tantrum rising, so I tried folding them up completely. That was what satisfied him.

I first fixed the binoculars just the right way for his face, but that wasn't what he wanted. In the end, he got what he wanted, but he can’t see out of them. Ultimately, I knew what was best for him, but he thought he knew how he wanted it fixed. 

This scene replayed in my head again in the rocking chair that day. I began to think of all the times I gave something to God, asking for His help, but I had a specific idea of how I wanted it fixed. In the end, I can keep insisting things be done my way and never really know what He had planned. Or I can accept the way He fixes it and trust it will be done in a way that is best for me.  

My baby 

“The Lord protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me. Let my soul be at rest again for the Lord has been good to me.”  Psalms 116:6-7

My rocking slowed as I realized the infant in my arms was sound asleep. As I slowly stood to lay him down, I received the final piece to this lesson: child-like faith. Here was my little infant asleep in my arms. To fall asleep in my arms is his ultimate act of total and complete faith. He trusted 100% that I would not let him fall. He knows I have him, and he doesn't even consider anything else. He is so at peace in my arms that he was able to drift off to sleep. 

I stood at the edge of his crib, cradling his little body in my arms a moment longer, relishing in his trust in me and wondering what my life would look like if I put that much faith in Jesus. To give my life over to Him completely would be to rest in His arms and never for a second doubt that He has me.