Matthew 18:3
And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
A few weeks back I picked Sydney up from pre-school (that’s where she goes to play with Tessa, her “bestest bestest friend”) and we went on a date. Now, there’s not much better than having a date with your 5 year-old, but this one turned out to be pretty uncomfortable. Here’s why…
Sydney went ahead to the room where the playground was and I got our food and took it back a few minutes later. When I walked in, I noticed that there was already a mother and daughter there eating. Well, Sydney and I start eating, too, and it wasn’t long until she was ready to go play. Off came the shoes and up the slide she went – the wrong way, of course! Soon, the other girl was playing, too, and it didn’t take long for the two of them to hit it off. They laughed, played, and eventually had a conversation. “My name’s Sydney. What’s yours?” “My daddy’s name is…” “My mommy’s name is…” Of course, the entire time they’re talking, I’m at the table looking at the floor, playing on my cell, reading the Kid’s Meal bag, or anything else I can do to pass the time. What I’m NOT doing, though, is having a conversation with the only other living person in the room not on a slide!
That’s the part that got uncomfortable. I couldn’t get over the fact that my daughter was able to have a conversation of meaning with a stranger and yet I couldn’t do the same as an adult. I mean, not even a “boy, they’re having fun up there, aren’t they?” It was one of those moments when I almost said out loud to God, “And you actually think I am a good choice for ministry?” My eyes are being opened wider and wider to how comfortable I am where I am, but I want to be comfortable where my daughter is – a place where I see others without an agenda, without the pressure of trying to get them to see it a certain way. A place where we can just talk. Sydney really wanted to know what that girl’s name was because she really wanted to make a new friend. So often, we see the relationship building as a means to an end (salvation for them, notch in belt for us) when actually, the relationship building is the end for us. Everything after that is up to God.
So the next time we’re in Burger King together, meet me in the green helicopter up the slide to the left and we’ll chat. After all, that’s what His children do, right?
