06 Aug DO NOT DESPISE HER CHILDHOOD

“Penny, NO! No, no, no, no, they just got this all ready for the grass tomorrow!” I hurried outside wondering how, in a few short minutes, two little girls could find the one thing they shouldn’t do in our big, child-friendly back yard. We were mid-lawn project and the landscapers had painstaking cleared and leveled the new soil when along came two toddlers with a giant pile of tiny rocks. To toddlers, it seemed like a brilliant idea to scoop lots of pea gravel from the playground onto a blanket on the smooth dirt. Irrationally angry, I took a few deep breaths and managed to keep it together because really, they weren’t doing anything wrong. Later that evening, I grumpily scooped a mass of tiny gravel back onto the playground with a kid-size broom and dustpan play set, silently fuming at my husband for missing this particular episode.

A few days later, I rushed into the gym parking lot, grateful for a spot but still chagrined we were running late. I strapped on the diaper backpack, grabbed the ridiculously heavy car seat with one arm, and opened Penny’s car door. For what felt like an eternity, she moseyed out of her seat, eyes lifted to the sky, moving at a snail’s pace down the one small step to the pavement. “Mom, look! There’s a squirrel! Where is he going? Why is he doing that? Why? Why? Why?” I bit my lip, trying to remind myself that she’s only three and the world is a big, new, wonderful place for her to explore. But really, the ticker tape running through my head was: Get. Out. Of. The. Car.

That afternoon, I opened a box in her room, hunting for that little expandable bar thing that keeps the toilet paper in the wall holder because it had mysteriously disappeared, and I was pretty sure my little bag lady had stashed it somewhere. Inside the box of her “treasures,” I discovered a clump of dried out baby wipes, more rocks, and several coins for one of her board games. With a defeated sigh I gave up, thinking about how I can’t ever seem to find anything.

Suddenly, almost audibly, the Holy Spirit spoke to me, “Natalie, do not despise her childhood.” Stunned, I asked, “What do you mean, Lord?” I only heard the same phrase again, “Do not despise her childhood.”

Chastened, I spent the next several days ruminating on this word. When she knocked over her cereal cup, flinging milk and soggy Gorilla Munch all over the floor, I didn’t freak out, even on the inside. Instead, I heard the same phrase again, “Do not despise her childhood.” Messes and spills and accidents are a part of being little and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Later, the Lord reminded me of the story of King David dancing in the streets upon returning the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Watching from a window, his wife, Michal, chided him in disdain.

So David went there and brought the Ark to the City of David with a great celebration … And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly tunic … But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him … When David returned home to bless his family, Michal came out to meet him and said in disgust, “How glorious the king of Israel looked today! He exposed himself to the servant girls like any indecent person might do!” David retorted to Michal, “I was dancing before the Lord … so I am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the Lord” (2 Samuel 6:12-23 (excerpts)).

David’s dancing was a beautiful act of worship, a sacred ritual expressing his joy and delight in the Lord. In her disdain, Michal not only missed an opportunity to enter into worshipful reverence with her husband, she damaged their relationship. Quite the cautionary tale.

Likewise, Jesus set an example for us in the way he valued children. He chose to arrive on earth not as a grown-up king, but a tiny, humble baby. Throughout his ministry he taught that we should be childlike in our faith, emulating the purity of their innocent hearts. Jesus told his disciples to welcome children in his name and to teach them his ways. Jesus loved little children.

As the Lord gently spoke to me, I was reminded that I needed to hold my frustration and embrace the chance to experience the worship and wonder of my daughter’s childhood. I don’t want to miss all the beauty and blessing God has for me and my children. I want my heart to be like that of a little child’s, and the best way to do that is to experience the world through the eyes of my children. I will not despise their childhood. Through God’s grace, I will endeavor to welcome the slower pace, the wide-eyed wonder, and even the messes.

God created these little people to give us life and laughter and purpose and meaning. He uses their sweet spirits to bless us, their toddler tantrums to sanctify us, and our relationship with them to teach us about himself.

Today, as I was trying to put her down for a nap while nursing my infant, she stuck her finger in between her buns, scratched, smelled, and then stuck her stinky poop finger in my right nostril. Embracing their childhood doesn’t mean that everything our children do is designed to teach us about God. Some things are purely of comedic value.