Matthew 19:13-16 - "Jesus Loves the Little Children"

My heart is heavy this morning for one of my little guys who broke his foot last night. I cannot begin to imagine how life over the next few weeks will be for him. How do you keep a two year old down? Then I think of another one of my little guys who has Immune Deficiency and is facing a colonoscopy and endoscopy. How do you explain to a seven year old about how the prep will be? It is hard enough on an adult to go through these things. Little Richie had labs and chemo this week. I'm not sure how things went but I continue to pray for him and his family. I have a special place in my heart for children. I know Jesus did to when he rebuked the disciples for trying to keep the children away in Matthew 19. The disciples may have thought the children were not worth Jesus' time. That was not true. They may have believed it was not socially accepted to have the children with Jesus. That was not true. They may have thought it was disrespectful to bring the children to Jesus but Jesus did not think so. Children are a gift from God. We can learn from them. In fact, when one becomes a believer they are like children. Their faith will grow and their belief will become greater. Just as a child grows in their physical being, a new believer should grow in their spiritual being. I love the way God uses me to love on children; to teach them about Him; to be there for them when they are hurting or questioning life. This is not a new role in my life. When I was a young girl in the sixth grade, I started babysitting. As I was growing up, I wanted six children. Three boys and three girls. I was blessed with three boys and their ladies are my three girls. I also am blessed with many girls and boys in my life. There is nothing better than hearing my grand babies say, "I love you, Grandma/Memaw Sheila." I love walking into a house and hearing "Ms Sheila's here" or "Granny's here" or in Mr. Grayson's words, 'Nonni' for Granny. Children bring life. When things are tough, they bring encouragement. Our congregation on Sunday mornings is normally less than twenty but when you put our Tuesday night group in the mix it doubles. Jesus' words of "Let the little children come to me..." in Matthew 19 are exactly what I desire in my life. I never want a child to feel like they are turned away from me. I never want them to feel like they are not important to me. This is hard with my grand babies being so far away and their lives being so busy. I pray for them but I sure wish I could be with them or at least talk to them more often. This is an area God has really had to comfort me in since He brought us so far away from them. He reassures me He is watching over them. He blesses me through bits and pieces of their life that I get through glimpses on Facebook. Just as children trust their parents, I must trust God in knowing what is best. I must have faith that He will watch over them. I must know in my heart that He cares for both them and me that He will never turn away from us. 

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for Your love that You lavish down upon me every day! Thank You for the way You cleanse me so You can fill me with more of You! Lord, go before me today and be my words, actions, and attitude. I pray people will see/hear You instead of me. Father, I pray for Little Grayson as he gets his cast on; Little Eli as he goes through the tests in the near future; Little Richie with testing and chemo; Miss Evelyn, Mr Beckett, Miss Bella, Miss Annabel, Miss Clementine, Mr Weston, and Miss Aiya to know I love them and am praying for them. Lord, be with all our Tuesday night children and teens. May they know we love them and are here for them. Thank You for giving me a heart for children. Thank You for putting many in my path. Thank You for being My Heavenly Daddy! Amen.