I smiled as I watched a little three year old girl run around the chapel after the morning service. Her long, gorgeous black curls bounced with each small step she took, and she laughed as she took off in a hurry, trying to avoid the tagger in a game. Just as she was about to get tagged, she spotted me and sprinted towards me. She stopped just short of me, leaped as high as she could, then wrapped her small hands and legs around my skirt, clinging tightly, and squealing "Up! Up!" in the excitement of the moment. Her adorable grin lite up her whole face as I scooped her up. Gleefully laughing that she was now taller than her tagger (a 7 year old girl) and thus couldn't be tagged, she tugged on my shirt and plea-fully begged for me to run. I couldn't disappoint her! Running around the nearly empty chapel with her in my arms, she giggled uncontrollably. Before long, her laughter was contagious, catching on to me and another little girl we were playing with. After 10 minutes of running around carrying a giggling 3 year old, I set her down on the floor to give myself a break. What I hadn't realized then was, after 10 minutes of a completely joyful 3 year old, this little girl wasn't going to be happy unless I was holding her. She was already attached to me (quite literally, not letting go of my legs), so I had to satisfy her for 20 more minutes of holding her.
Though it may not seem like it sometimes, children are watching us. Whether it's our neighbors children, or children you see passing in the streets, they're watching us, waiting to see how we'll react to things. Even this little girl was watching me, wanting to see how long I would hold her before tiring. Are we going to lose our temper at the little children when they mess up, or are we going to forgive them and show them love?
Matthew 18:6 says, "If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." I always thought this verse was so severe sounding. Notice how it doesn't say that it would be better for them to be put in jail for a few years or anything that small. Rather, it says, "It would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." That verse definitely implies how important it is to not cause a little one who believes in God to stumble. Whatever you do, they're going to notice. And they will learn and start imitating you. So what are you showing them? Are you showing them how to lie by lying to them? Or are you praying with them at bed-time, teaching them how to pray on their own? No matter the size of the eyes watching you, set a role model for the people around you.
Kayla Joy
