It has been said that no one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child and that the effort of every means of educating our children should be aimed at unlocking that treasure. As we mature, too often due to inhibitions garnered from lessons learned from the world that surrounds us, we lose the innocence, honesty and simplicity we so easily embraced as children. That begs the question for each of us: who is wiser, the child that I was or the adult I’ve become? As Jesus admonished us “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” – Mark 10:14-16.
In that spirit, here is this week’s lesson:
A group of behavioral scientists posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, “What does love mean?” The answers they got were broader and deeper than any of the scientists could have imagined. See what you think:
“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” – Rebecca – age 8
“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth.” – Billy – age 4
“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out an smell each other.” – Karl – age 5
“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” – Chrissy – age 6
“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” – Terri – age 4
“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the tastes is okay.” – Danny – age 7
“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.” – Emily – age 8
“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” WOW! – Bobby age 7
“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.” – Nikka – age 6
“There are two kinds of love. Our love. God’s love. But God makes both kinds of them.” – Jenny – age 8
“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.” – Noelle – age 7
“Love is like a little old man and a little old woman who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” – Tommy – age 6
“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my Daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.” – Cindy – age 8
“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” – Claire – age 6
“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” – Elaine – age 5
“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he’s handsomer than Robert Redford.” – Chris – age 7
“Love is when you puppy licks your face after you left him alone all day.” – Mary Ann – age 4
“ I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” – Lauren – age 4
“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” – Karen – age 7
“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.” – Mark – age 6
“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” – Jessica – age 8
One last point about how children define love. Author and lecturer, Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four-year-old whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man crying, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed unto his lap and just sat there. When his Mother later asked him what he said to the neighbor, the little boy replied, “Nothing. I just helped him cry.”
Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. – 1 John 3:18
Have an AWE-full weekend!
William “Bill” Bacque