So being a parent gives you some unique perspective on things. Now I’m pretty stupid about kids in general, and I’m sure people who like kids who are reading this are going to say “duh” or “I told you so” to a lot of this. But these things are new to me!
Alice (and kids in general) have certain characteristics that are innocent and unspoiled. These can lead people to call them cute. Being a man of faith, these things serve to reinforce my belief in God as a creator. Other people may come to different conclusions.
Here’s a quote from the Bible:
“People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’”
What did Jesus mean by this odd statement? Are we all supposed to cry and wear diapers? Probably not, but maybe it has to do with the following sorts of things that I have noticed in Alice:
1) Alice naturally trusts without doubt. There is literally no possible way her mom and dad could fail her in any way. It’s not until kids grow up that they realize their parents aren’t perfect and will let them down in many ways.
2) Alice has no fear of nature. She’ll pick up any worm or bug and let it crawl on her. She has no fear of heights. She climbed a tree with me today and just yelled “up, up!” as she went. She was like 15 feet off the ground. She has no fear of anything, really. Fear is something we develop as we get older.
3) Alice lives in the present. She has no concept of “tomorrow” or “yesterday”. She’s blissfully unaware of worry or anxiety about the future, and regrets about the past. There’s only the here and now. In this way she understand eternity better than any grown up.
4) Alice just loves to be with her parents. She’ll do just about anything we’re doing as long as we’re around. She tries very hard to learn about and imitate us, as though that’s her only purpose in life.
5) Alice isn’t scared of people or worried about what they think of her. She loves to please and help us but isn’t scared of losing our love.
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