Perhaps it’s from my training as a preschool teacher, and maybe it’s as a mother and now a grandmother, that I notice babies in carriages and strollers. I like to see their innocent and sleeping faces, at whatever time of day it may be for them.
Unless children have been exposed to roughness or cruelty, they most often greet people joyfully. I remember the two-year-olds at the day care where I once taught, including those who lived in impoverished circumstances. Their mothers had no choice but to work to keep them in food, clothing and shelter, though they might have liked to be home. For the most part, those children still met the day with a smile. Parting from their mothers might be difficult, but they came to trust me and I took the small hands in mine to lead them to their favourite activity.
Jesus called the children to him, much to the disciples’ dismay. Jesus saw the pure hearts of the children and blessed them, and what’s more, he asks us to be as children, coming to him with that same trusting heart.
Loving Jesus, thank you for the welcome you offer and for your love. Help us to shed our worldly cares and come to you as children and heirs to your kingdom. Amen. — CRW