…and a little child shall lead them. ~ Isaiah 11:6 —
In the midst of Christmas preparations, do you find yourself feeling pressured and ready for it to just be over, rather than excited and wanting it to last forever? If so, I invite you to take back your child’s perspective on the holiday. It will restore your heart and lift your joy to new heights.
It is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew 18:2-3 that Jesus called a child to him and then said to the adults present, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” T. Elton Trueblood wrote of this scripture, “The Gospel says that the inescapable condition of entrance into the divine fellowship is that we turn and become as a little child.” We can enter into the kingdom, the consciousness of Christmas love, hope, peace and joy only when we think and feel with the innocence and simplicity of a little child.
Charles Dickens said,” It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty founder was a child himself.” Perhaps Jesus came to earth as a child to remind us that life-altering love can come in small, vulnerable packages. Children, those small vulnerable packages of life-altering love, approach life with boundless enthusiasm, expecting something good to happen.
Children expect life to be fun. They believe in magic and possibilities. Santa Claus, flying reindeer and Christmas elves present no challenge to them. Wouldn’t Christmas be more fun if, like a child, we could be so imaginative? If we could enthusiastically throw wide open the doors of our hearts and minds to believe in the possibility of miracles and the unconditional love and abundance of the Creator for each one of us? How much fun would it be to delight in the wonders of every moment and to be thoroughly tickled by just spending time with friends and sharing stories with them? Singing carols loud and unconsciously? How sweet would it be to know that the gift of your love and attention would be exactly the right thing to give every person? When we shift into our child’s heart, we can know that kind of fun.
If Christmas has lost some of its joy for you, I pray you will take back your child’s heart and go for it. Laugh, play, sing loudly, hug everyone, dance, love with wild abandon, eat cookies, enjoy colored lights and sparkling baubles, celebrate everything and expect miracles.
In a child’s heart, the joy of Christmas is born every day. May it be so for you too.