The wisdom of children

Traveling across red-rock country of Arizona this spring

 

Last night we had some friends over for dinner.  There were eight of us and the seven-year-old boy said a blessing.  He made it up as he went along…right from his heart.  Children really humble me. 

“Thank you God for everything.  Thank you for electricity.  Please help our dog Pokey be happy in heaven.”  I can’t remember what else he was thankful for, but Pokey had just passed on the day before.  I’m not sure why “electricity” was on his mind.  But it’s been a long time since I’ve thanked God for electricity, plumbing, and anesthetics used in modern medicine.  The simple heart of a child doesn’t take anything for granted. 

I tried to capture some of that simplicity in Issa, especially with the character, Miriam, as a three-year-old.  I’d love to hear some of your stories about the prayers or spiritual lessons from children.  They enrich my life and my stories!

Responses

  1. helenbeaufort Avatar

    When my sister and I were little, our family sometimes celebrated Christmas with a birthday cake for Jesus and we would sing happy birthday to him. One year, my sister wanted to know how many candles to put on the cake, so she asked my mum how old Jesus was. Mum answered that if he were still a person alive today he would be about 2,000 years old. At which, my sister exclaimed, incredulous, “Wow!! He must be BIG!”

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    1. issanotes Avatar

      Great story. What a good idea to have a birthday cake for Christmas. Thanks for commenting with this one.

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  2. Armando Avatar

    Here is a story:

    The children in kindergarten were all drawing. The teacher gets closer to one of them and asks: “and what are you drawing?”, the little girl answers: “I am drawing God!” then the teacher says: “but nobody has ever seen God!” and the little girl quickly answers: “in a minute, they will!!”

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    1. issanotes Avatar

      This is a funny story! Is it true??

      It certainly could be true. Children are so perceptive. Thanks for adding this.

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