5 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,
6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Matthew 18:5-6
When I'm cuddling Livia and she smiles up at me, I sometimes feel so sad that she is so carefree and unaware of hardship and that this wont always be the case. I remember when we first left the hospital after she was born and we took her out into the cold and rain, I felt almost guilty that we were exposing her to this outside world. At that moment I wanted to run back to the warmth and safety of the hospital!
Another example of the innocence of children happened this week with Chloe. She was watching an episode of Charlie and Lola where Lola's best friend decides to be friends with someone else. After watching it she was a little quiet and then when it came to bedtime she suddenly became distraught. At first we thought Chloe was mucking around but she then began crying real tears and sobbing, saying 'Niamh [her cousin] isn't my best friend anymore.'
The idea of someone deciding not to be friends anymore seemed to have upset Chloe. It was like she hadn't realised this could happen and now she had, she was imagining it happening to her (nothing had happened between her and her cousin so it can't have been based on real events!).
I wish I could put a little bubble around my children and protect them from the hurt and reality of this world. I wish they could stay at this stage of having all their needs met and relying on others to fight their battles. But I know that's not how life works and I have to trust God to teach them about the world without getting too bruised along the way. If they have God on their side then they will always be protected and have someone to share their hurts even when I'm not there.
Thank you lord for your love of children. Please protect my two girls as they learn about the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment