Bees, Butterflies, {Babies} & Jesus

This is why I cherish the days of having a two-year old in my care...there's so much to learn from her! Here is a peak into our week so far...

1) A friend of ours is a missionary to street children in Honduras. She left one of her prayer cards with us after our visit with her last week, and Lucy noticed it sitting on the table when she was getting into her chair for breakfast. She grabbed it, looked at those boys, and her face lit up. The conversation went like this:

 

 Lucy: "Friend! Mommy! Lucy Friend!" 

Me: "Oh, is that your friend, Lucy?" 

Lucy: {nodding}"Friend! Pray, friend? Pray, friend?"

Me: "Yes, sweet girl...let's pray for your friends"

 She didn't know who they were, what their situation was, didn't notice that they looked different from her, had a different skin color, were a different age & different gender. All she noticed was that they were children, just like her, and they were goofy, and they were having fun.  

And that meant they were her friends.

2) We have a book on one of our side tables called Portraits that is all pictures of faces that a National Geographic photographer took over his years traveling the world. The front and back covers have a portrait of an Afghan girl who you can tell has lived a very difficult life. Apparently our features must resemble each other in some way because earlier this week Lucy ran into the nursery with the book, pointing to her face and saying, "Mommy! Mommy!"




Again, she didn't pick up on the fact that this girl was dressed in rags, had filthy hands and dirt on her face, wore a head covering, and many other differences that I would pick up on immediately. She noticed the similarities between us and made the connection that

this must be a picture of Mommy.

3) I received a very distressing phone call from a friend this week that just broke my heart after talking to her. As I sat in the nursery with Olive, Lucy walked in and noticed me crying. With a distressed look on her face, the conversation went like this:

 

Lucy: "Mommy, cry? Mommy, sad?"

Me: "Yes, Lucy. Mommy is sad. Even Mommy cries sometimes when I am sad. Do you know what we should do when we are sad?"

Lucy: "Pray! Mommy pray!"

Me: "That's right. We should pray."

And so we did. We prayed for our friends, and Lucy interjected to make sure that I remembered to thank God for bees, butterflies, fish, Kipper, and Jesus.

I am so thankful for moments like these that God gives me to learn from my 2year old. While I am quick to see the things that set me apart from other people, all she sees is the similarities. Everyone is a friend...everyone is someone to love... and everyone is someone to pray for.

 

And when you are sad, don't forget to thank God for the wonderful things in this world like bees, butterflies,{babies} and Jesus.