Children

Warning: This is a Serious Post

I thought that title might catch your eye...but, no, this blog is not about us having a baby :) I just wanted to share some thoughts about, well, a little girl who sat beneath our tree...
While I was tightening up my shoes before going running on Saturday, I exchanged glances and smiles with a little girl (probably four years old) who was contentedly sitting in a pile of pink pedals beneath our Kwanzan tree. It was one of those magical moments when time stands still, just for a second, and thoughts and feelings crystallize into some kind of clarity that wasn't there before. The wind was blowing slightly sending dozens of pink pedals tumbling down from their secure place on the tree to the grass and sidewalk and steps surrounding the tree. This little girl was thoroughly enjoying the moment, letting pedals fall on her head and arms and legs, and picking up handfuls of pedals to just feel them between her fingers. I felt a like I'd intruded a little into her special time with our tree, but I was so grateful for the reminder of what the world is like through the eyes of a child-- full of wonder, magic, and beauty.
Now, a few random, but related, thoughts about children...
I've been preparing for the new job I will have (starting in mid-August) and studying up on a bunch of things. Since I will be working with all boys, I've been listening to this book on CD titled "Boys Should be Boys". Essentially, the pediatrician who writes this book, is advocating for parents, teachers, and society, to encourage boys to have full childhoods of being outdoors, having adventures, and scuffing their knees...AND to not give in to the negative messages the media conveys that boys are ruled by testosterone and that it's "normal" to be involved in drugs, premarital sex, and violence.
I recently read the blog of one of my church youth leaders from when I was a teenager. I couldn't believe that her kids are now all teenagers! She writes about her oldest son and the struggles he (and they, as his family) has gone through this past year. As I read, I cried, and my heart ached for a boy who has given up part of his adolecense and who, at the same time, is so very much just a little boy. My thoughts have been turned to them.
Ever since my first year of undergrad, I've been involved in working with teenagers/ children. I have heard, seen, and sometimes even experienced, really sad and horrific things done to and by kids. AND, I've also been able to witness the incredible strength, talent, and power that kids have for good. I just want children to be able to be children and to not lose, or give up too early, that view of the world being full of beauty and wonder and magic. I'm so grateful that it's possible for kids, and even adults, to have our hearts renewed with childlike innocence and to enjoy the wonder of piles of pink pedals...