HDWN? How can I be little again?

What’s up, brothers (and sisters)! How do we feel about blog posts coming out on Tuesdays? I know this post is going to be uploaded on Tuesday night, but moving forward He Did What Now? will come out on Tuesday mornings!!!

Over the past week, I’ve been able to spend a lot of time with children between the ages of 2 and 7. Let me tell you, these kids have my brain going 90MPH… they’re quick-witted and always have a question behind their questions. It. Never. Stops.

In a survey I sent out a few weeks back, I asked “What questions do you have about life as a Christian in today’s society?” One anonymous response questioned how we can stay close to God. 

This week, surrounded by all the little ones, this question popped back into my brain. God airdropped these verses (Matthew 18:1-4) into my noggin:

After playtime was over, they’d run back to their parents and would practically tackle them. Instantly, my mind started turning, connecting a small child’s relationship with their parent or guardian can mirror a relationship with God… turns out, those little kids are doing big things in seemingly small ways. So this week, we’re learning how to be little again!

We’re going to dive into the characteristics and habits young children have and put them to practice in our walk with our heavenly Father.

Let’s get to being kids again!

#1  - Children run to tell their parents every high, every low, and everything in between.

On a gazillion (autocorrect isn’t correcting me here, so I’m assuming this is a real number) different occasions, I had kids of all ages running to tell their parents things. Drew a pretty picture they were proud of? Gotta tell Dad! Scraped their knee? Mom is the only one who can fix it. Feeling sleepy after a long day of play? There are no arms like those of their guardians. 

For every high and every low, each kid wanted to tell a parent first. These kids ran to their guardians for every anxiety and every joy; there was nothing too small to tell their parents about. In the same way, there is nothing too small or too large to bring to God. In fact, in Philippians 4:6-7, we’re told to make every request known to Him - there is no limit. 

Nothing is too small, too heavy, too big, too mediocre - there is nothing, NOTHING wasted when it comes to your relationship with the Lord. He’s right there, waiting to hear about your day, your triumphs, your trials, your grief, and your joy. And when we do bring these things to God, it feels incredibly peaceful and joyful… don’t you remember jumping into the arms of your mom, dad, or guardian when you were teeny tiny? You knew someone was holding you and that they weren’t going to let you fall. God holds us in the same way… we only have to lean in.

#2 - Kids aren’t afraid to ask questions.

If I had a dollar for everytime a kid asked me, “Why?” over the past week, I think I could buy a big house… and in this economy, that’s saying something! 

If one of the kids was curious, if there was something they didn’t understand, or even if they thought something was cool, they’d ask why. Why is your hair that color? Why can’t my friend have peanuts? Why do you look sad? Why do stickers stick? It’s endless!

The fact of the matter is that these kids weren’t afraid to ask questions. They weren’t afraid to ask a question out of curiosity or out of doubt. There was no hesitation, only the question itself. The even crazier part is that they had enough faith in their parents to know they’d receive an answer. I could see it in each of their eyes… they’d wait patiently, watching their parents' faces as their questions were answered.

Sometimes, the answers weren’t what was expected. Depending on the age of the kid and the question, they’d receive one of three answers:

1. The full answer.

2. The "easy-to-understand" answer.

3. The “I promise we’ll talk about that later” answer.

Look back at the gospels… how many times do the disciples ask Jesus all kinds of questions??? Sometimes, they’d receive the full answer,  sometimes a parable, and sometimes they’d be told to wait. Regardless, Jesus was there with them through their questions. We're told to call to God and that He will answer in Jeremiah 33:3.

The best way to get to know someone or gain knowledge about a topic is to ask questions. We can’t be afraid to ask God questions, especially when the questions seem hard to ask or if we’re scared of what the answer might be. There was a time in your life where you were young enough to ask questions without fear or shame… through the Holy Spirit, we are given a spirit of power, not of fear. Get to know God. Ask those hard or pressing questions. Maybe you won’t get the answer you expect, but you’ll have the peace of knowing God is faithful in His plans.

#3 - Kids can make anything (and I mean anything) fun.

MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS. These kids make dirt fun. And I mean that literally. You could hand a kid a rock, and they’d be able to turn it into some great adventure. They truly live life as if there is no other moment - past or future - other than the moment they are presently in. They aren’t afraid to dream so big and so in the moment that even their own imaginary friends are like, ”Dang, kid… big dreams.” They laugh loudly. They don’t seem to care about what they look like. They have fun from their head to their tippy toes.

There is something so beautiful about that sentiment, that true joy is found right in the moment that you are in, not the moment you were in or will be in. We read this in Ecclesiastes 11:10...

While God is outside of time, we aren’t. Dwelling on the past or worrying about the future removes us from the joy of the moment. Does a 4 year old sit and ponder what they did when they were 2? Does a 5 year old contemplate what’s gonna happen to their 401k by the time they're ready to retire? NO! They just laugh in the moment that they're in. They just cry in the moment that they're in. They are just living in the moment that they are in, and they laugh, cry, and exist freely because of it.

There’s a reason that Jesus tells the disciples to live day by day, not worrying about tomorrow. Tomorrow has worries of its own, right? We can stay close to God, like a little kid close to their parents, by not anchoring ourselves to the past or reaching too far ahead of ourselves - we only need to walk right beside God in the present.

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I could go on and on… and maybe I will next week! What are some habits or characteristics of little kids that you think could apply to your own relationship with God? I’m eager to hear about them!

I’m hoping to have some super exciting news about the podcast soon! I would really appreciate prayers over the podcast. I’m beyond excited for this journey with y’all!

This is done for the glory of God and the encouragement of you!!! Come visit me at Twelve! I’ll save you a seat myself!

See y’all next week!