Having a Faith like a Child

My two and a half daughter Jasmine isn't feeling well today. She is having colds and cough. In fact, it was difficult for her to sleep last night due to constant coughing. This morning, while I was preparing her to drink the medicine, she told me, "Mommy, lets pray to Jesus to take away my cough." I was amazed at her faith! And felt guilty at the same time! Why would I always be reminded to pray first before I worry?

There had been plenty of times when my children would ask me to pray for them when they have specific concerns. My eldest Julia when she was 4, had a stomach ache. She was crying from pain and I was in panic. I was busy looking for something to medicate her when she called me and said, "Mommy, can you please pray for me first?"

One bedtime when we were getting ready to sleep, Julia asked me to pray for her because she is having scary dreams. She would often wake me up to pray for her because many times, I would doze off ahead of her. There was one time while I was praying, she heard her grandma coughing on the adjacent room. She prompted me to pray for granny's cough. She would also pray for the rest of the household.

I remember when she was only two years old, she would pray during meal times and give thanks, apart from the food, everything she would see on the dinner table, from the spoon & fork, to the plates and water! Imagine how long we would listen to her until she finished. It was funny, yet a sounding truth about a child's faith. She appreciates everything from the littlest of things and thanks God for them.

Last week, as I was planning to write an article about happiness, I asked Jasmine what makes her happy. She thought for a while, and without batting an eyelash, told me, "Jesus!"

In the Bible, Jesus told the disciples to "let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Mark 10:14-15)

I wondered why Jesus used the little children as the example of how our faith to be like. When I think of little children, I think of these things: teachable heart, innocence, dependence, worry-free. A child believes in anything, trusts easily, anticipates with excitement. That's the very faith Jesus wants from us. And I thank Him that He uses my children everyday to remind me.

(Scripture verse taken from the New International Version Bible)