Today's Advent act is to ponder children, find Jesus in their faces, and find some way to love a child. Well, one thing I know is that in no way did I interact with any children, although it felt like it at times in my office! :) However, I find myself thinking often of my upcoming career teaching early elementary students. I absolutely cannot wait to get into the classroom and teach! I love the way children are so eager to learn. They are fearless and just absorb the world around them like sponges. One of my favorite feelings of joy is when I see something click in the mind of one I am teaching. And then, watching them put that new skill into practice.
Children need so much love, attention, and guidance. What a selfless act it is to be a parent, guardian, or mentor to a child! You must completely forget yourself and your own desires in order to ensure your child has what he or she needs to survive, to be successful, and to make good decisions. They depend so much on the older people in their lives to show them the right way to live. That puts a lot of pressure on the older people because the reality of the daily grind sometimes gets the best of us. (I count myself in the older people crowd now, I suppose.) Thinking about Sunday's post on finding Jesus, I realize that it's a double whammy when I not only have to seek and find Jesus for myself, but also have to teach the children in my life how to. It's not just a challenge, but an honor to pass on such a hopeful and peaceful message to a child who will eventually grow up in an oftentimes harsh and cruel world.
It's really not hard for me to find Jesus in the faces of children. It's definitely one of the easier ways to seek and find Jesus in my life. For one, the children in my family are unspeakably the perfect image of God and His creation. I absolutely cannot imagine any more perfect creatures in the world than them, despite the occasional temper tantrums (at which I try to hide my laughter) or attitudes (at which I patiently attempt to encourage some discipline). Outside of my family, whenever I see children in strollers or walking with their parents throughout the city, I do smile to myself. They're such little people with such big dreams and aspirations... you can see it in the way they try to emulate their parents or in the way they look around and try to understand the world around them. There is so much potential in them! I suppose it's easy to get through my life and just pray and hope that the next generation will do a better job than we can. Isn't that the curse (or blessing?) of every generation?
While I did not get to spend time with any children today, I look forward to spending more time with my nephews this weekend. And, since I don't plan to be around any children until then, I'm going honor them by donating to New Orleans Children's Hospital, the place that healed my heart when I was a baby. Everyday, the doctors, nurses, and staff provide love and care to sick children. I'll pray for them tonight as well as for all those who care for children -- parents, guardians, teachers, family members, doctors, emergency service providers, daycare facilitators, summer camp counselors, and all those who devote their lives to the welfare of children in the world.
Recap - Ponder children, find Jesus in their faces, and love a child.
1. Children need guidance and example from us.
2. Children provide us with a beautiful expression of Jesus as human.
3. Take time and resources to remember and love children and to put them first.
DONATE TO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, NEW ORLEANS: http://www.chnola.org/PageDisplay.asp?p1=4289
BONUS: The Jesse Tree - http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/jessetree.html
PS: My "Advent Acts" have and will come from a lovely little book entitled Joyous Expectations: Journeying through Advent with Mary by M. Jean Frisk, copyright 2005.
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