The Heart of a Child

As some of you may know, I help in the morning exercises at our church. I help keep an eye on the kids before they are split up and taken to their Sunday School classes. We begin by playing a game and singing a few songs. We then conclude the morning exercises with offering and prayer before the Sunday School teachers take the kids to their classes.
This morning I went to the front of the room and started calling on children to pick songs to sing. Almost every hand in the room lifted and kids were yelling out songs they really wanted to sing, ranging from "Jesus Loves Me" to the "Crayon Box" to "The Little Green Frog" and "Captain Jack". I asked myself, "When was the last time I got excited about a song I really wanted to sing for God?" If only we had the heart of a child sometimes.
I then picked one boy for the boy's offering and one girl for the girl's offering. One of the boys, Latrell, raised his hand and said,"Miss Jackie, can I please pray for the offering this week?!" I said that was fine and he came to the front of the room with me and the other two kids to pray. He grew somewhat solemn and began his prayer. His reverance amazed me. I can't tell you word for word what he said but you could tell he meant it. He prayed for the offering, for the Sunday School classes that were about to begin, for the children there and the ones that didn't make it that day. He prayed for the teachers, for the lesson, and for the children who may not be saved. He then thanked God for the church and the money that was going to be taken up. He concluded his prayer with "In the name of Jesus, our Savior, Amen." I had never heard a child be so reverent in his prayer before. Latrell is a 12 year old boy who was not afraid to pray in front of others. He wasn't embarrassed or thought he was too mature for prayer, but rather he asked to pray. If only we had the heart of a child sometimes.
I then went with the other teacher and took our 3-5 year olds to their Sunday School class. As we were beginning the morning lesson it seemed as if each child had a story to tell about something that had happened that week. Mrs. Copeland (the other teacher) then asked," How many of you told at least one friend about Jesus this week?" About half the class raised their hands and began naming the different people they told. One little girl, Madison, told how she was telling her friends on the playground at school. If only we had the heart of a child to not be afraid of what others would think if we began talking about Jesus.
After the lesson ended I was getting ready to hand out the cookies to the kids while Mrs. Copeland was asking review questions about the lesson. After the last question was asked Mrs. Copeland said, "Okay, lets pray real quick before we have the snack." DonDon, a little boy who is about 5, stopped her before she started praying and said, "Can I pray Mrs. Copeland?" She smiled and said, "Sure Donnie, go ahead." Now before I go any further you have to know something about DonDon, he is your everyday little boy who likes running, frogs, monster trucks, and just about any other boy thing you can think of. He also has a speech impediment. He cannot say his 'th's or his 'c' as in the word 'city'. Now that you know that; back to what I was saying about him... he bows his head and folds his hands. All the other children do the same thing and he begins to pray, "Tank you, Lord, for Tunday Tool. Tank you for my teachers and for my friends. Tank you for making me and the other 't'ids too. Tank you for the tookies and tank you for making te world and turch and Tunday Tool. In Jesus name, Amen." After the prayer Mrs. Copeland and I just looked at eachother and then at Donnie. If only we had the soft hearts of a child.
Being a teacher in that Sunday School class, I think I have learned more from the children then they have learned from me. Each week I see the unaltered faith of a child, I see the softness of a child, and I see the yearning in the eyes to learn and be loved. I am able to see the inside the heart of a child week in and week out. To hear some of the stories the kids tell me of their life at home you would think they would have some sort of bitterness or anger because of what is happening in their life. They don't realize yet the problems they will face in the next 5 to 10 years because of their homelife. All you see though is the unabashed faith and love of a child. Everytime I see something like that in one of the kids I think to myself, "If only we as adults would have the heart of a child." How much easier life would be! To come to Jesus in a childlike faith and know, just like a child would, that He will answer the prayer. To only have the heart of a child!