Kid at Heart

I think it will be apparent to anyone that reads my “Musings” entries that I am not and never have been a very good writer. I’ve been really impressed by the spiritual insight and literary skills of all the gentlemen involved here. Honestly, I’m feeling way out of my league. But I guess as with many sources of information and news that we find today, there is always at least one very elementary portion. I think if the other “Musings” contributions are Fox News, Discovery Channel and Wall Street Journal, you will find mine to be The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show (not any current versions, the one from the 70’s, yeah, I’m turning 40 this year), which actually says a lot about my personality if you don’t know me. I think that more often than not, if given the choice between sitting down and watching Hannity and Colmes or Spongebob Squarepants, you will find me quickly singing “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea…”.

I never really watched the news on a regular basis, mainly because it always depressed me. As I’ve gotten older, I realize the importance of being up to date on current national and world events as well as business markets but still, I try to avoid the negative aspects of news reporting which you all know is impossible. I think a lot of it though has to do with my desire to remain a kid at heart and to keep life as simple as I can. Right or wrong, that’s kind of how I’ve always rolled. Sometimes I’ll be playing with my boys (ages 6 and 4) and Star Wars is a pretty common topic for play. We will be in one room flying around (cause we’re spaceships) and I’ll be making the classic Tie Fighter noises (cause I’m usually cast as the bad guy). Just about every time we do this, at some point the two boys will leave the room and leave me there flying around aimlessly in space. With nobody around to see that I’m properly playing my roll, I will continue to fly around making my Tie Fighter noises and catch myself realizing that nobody is here but me. Yet I still continue. What’s up with that?

So, yeah, I’m pretty simple and frequently very child like (wives are now saying “poor Mandy”). Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch but I’ve always sort of felt that God likes it when we are simple. I know that He definitely encouraged us to be “childlike” and “humble” in our faith.

“Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”. Matthew 18:2-4

The faith of a child in his or her father is an amazing thing. Brandon and Conner trust me completely. When Conner was learning to swim this summer, he was never afraid as long as I was right there next to him to save him. His faith and trust in me was simple and complete. If I was there, things were okay. Period.

It’s easy for me to be simple like a child, but is it easy for me to have faith like a child? Not always. There have definitely been times where it’s been really easy to have complete faith in God, even in extreme trials. But I will always be striving to trust Him at all times, in the good and the bad. My encouragement to you is to humble yourself and become childlike in your faith and trust in your Father.
Gotta go, I hear the Spongebob theme starting…

Peace,

Monte