Be Still, Be Like a Child

This couldn’t be happening, I had already seen how destructive this way of thinking was to the people around me. I was starting to see it seep into my own life, and knew if I wasn’t careful, the thoughts would overtake me like it had in the past. It was so easy to let it happen, especially when the effects didn’t seem too bad. But deep down I knew that little by little cracks would happen in the foundation I had worked so hard to reinforce.

Another Saturday in the books, scrolling and watching reels and looking at what people posted instead of being productive and present with the family. It is so easy to pick up the phone and hit the app that will make you forget that you have things to do. The goal was to start unplugging more and finding ways in which creativity will blossom, and so with a new day the goal is set again. Negative thoughts help make way for excuses to be made when positive ideas can be accomplished. So the choice needs to be made to squash the negative and work towards the positive.

Enter the UNO card game. Teenagers can be a fickle group, one minute they are in their rooms for hours on in, in a zombie-like trance, the next minute they get into the game closet and pull out the UNO cards to play with whoever is available. Today it was my two teenage daughters. My middle child is usually the zombie in the room while my eldest is the zombie on the couch. With each card that is played trash talk is said and laughter ensues. It’s music to my ears, loud music but music non the less. They are being present and having fun. There are no negative thoughts happening. Every so often they look back at where I have camped out to see if there is a reaction to a comment made. What they don’t see is that my heart is swelling with joy at the fact that they are having fun.

Have you ever noticed that when an adult let’s go of the adult life for a little bit and acts and plays like a child they tend to have so much fun? Being an adult is hard, so when the chance arises to be childlike it is liberating. Problems can be forgotten, and critical thoughts vanquished. The last few Sundays my eldest daughter and I got to teach Sunday school. This weeks lesson was about how Jesus calmed the storm. So of course we found a blue blanket and had the kids hold onto the edges of it and when they were told to flop it up and down like a storm they had so much fun doing it. When “Be Still!” was yelled out they had to stop flopping. We then let one kid at a time sit under the blanket so that they could yell “Be Still!” whenever they wanted. The craft was then to make waves out of streamers so that they could run around waving the streamers and would have to freeze when “Be Still!” was yelled. I didn’t once think about work, outside life, or troubles. I was able to act like a kid for an hour plus. It’s no wonder that Jesus said “let the little children come to me” in the simplest form kids have the greatest of faiths and don’t have a care in the world. They trust wholeheartedly and love easily. This is how the foundation of my life is reinforced, to try and love and have joy like a child. When critical thoughts, cynical acts and negative emotions come streaming in, I have to remember in this storm Christ is saying “Be Still”, if I can pay attention to his words then all will be quiet and joy flows. Until next time:

Please don’t ever get tired of being a good person with a good heart. I know it sucks being taken advantage of and feeling like it’s better to be cold hearted sometimes. But people like you are what give this world hope.

Dhar Mann