All About Perspective

Recently, I was heading home from a conference and found myself in an airport with six hours to kill. Like any self-respecting introvert, I found an outlet in a corner of the terminal, plugged in my starving electronic book, and grabbed a seat on the floor. This spot placed me right at eye-level with my favorite people- the kids.

A Look at Things From Their Angle

While I love my full-time work in women’s health at Parkland Hospital, my service with the children’s ministry team at my church is often the injection of joy I need to get through week of adults. Kids have an honesty and openness that refreshes my spirit and makes me laugh again. They’re just my favorite.

So there I am, sitting in the floor, exchanging funny faces with this adorable (approximately) 3 yr old girl. Tight brown ringlets shaking with laughter all over her head.  She was travelling with an older woman (grandma?) who was having some trouble, based on the looks she was giving her phone. Oblivious, the little girl was circling the adult’s legs, singing a little song, and overall, being a lovely person

A Change In the Situation

Suddenly from above, a hand grabbed the girl’s arm and jerked her up. Some corrective words were spoken, a little shake was given, and the girl was released to the floor where she curled up around her adult’s leg and cried.

Now, I don’t know what was said. Maybe the adult had told her to be still and she didn’t. Maybe that was the third day of singing that song and the adult couldn’t take it anymore.  I’m not saying that we should never correct children (FAR FROM IT), or that we don’t all sometimes loose our cool. I’m just saying that I had a different perspective this time, and the adult’s action didn’t make any sense to me. If I, a highly functioning, well-educated adult couldn’t understand why a child is in trouble, do you think the child could?

The Bible Meets Life

Jesus teaches us that children are a priority (Luke 18:15-17; Mark 10:13-16). He was busy- busier than that lady in the airport- and he stopped everything to spend a few minutes with some little kids. He hugged them and spent time with them. He warns us not to mistreat them (Matthew 18:6; Luke 17:2) and tells us that we need to be like them (Mark 10:15). 

Additionally (as if we need more than instruction and example from Jesus), modern experts in child development confirm that children’s well-being is based on parental affection, responsiveness, encouragement, teaching, engagement, positive discipline and clear communication of expectations¹. This basically means that we need to speak kindly and clearly, provide consistent consequences, respond to their communication efforts, and love them well. Kids are needy little things, but once we’ve made them, we have clear instructions from the Lord and modern experts to treat them well.

I know that we are all doing the best we can, and sometimes we are going to have a bad day. Thankfully the Lord gives grace abundantly and He wipes our sins far away. But I’d encourage you that next time you are getting to the end of your rope, take a seat on the floor. Change your perspective and let me know what you see from down there.

With you in this, Esther.