All of us are called to find a childlike peace in the Lord.
Childlike peace is something we long for. Jesus says, “Unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven.” In the Gospels, Jesus put a significant emphasis on the preciousness of children. He advises His followers several times that children are the key to the kingdom of Heaven. Leading a child astray is worse than being thrown into the sea to die. No one should discourage the little children from coming to Him. Unless we adopt a childlike love for God, we will not enter His kingdom.
As my little Peter grows up, I feel like I keep learning new meanings behind these words of Christ. The other day, he was having trouble sleeping. He’s learning how to walk and talk right now, and he’s become clingier to me and Joshua in the process. As excited as Peter clearly is to take new steps in growing up, he wants to hold onto the familiar security (Mommy and Daddy). When he couldn’t sleep, we laid him down in our bed between us. He was instantly calmed.
I stayed awake for a few minutes after that. Peter did not fall back asleep (it was already around 7AM on a Saturday). But he wasn’t anxious anymore either. He sat in our bed and played with our blanket. We gave him the little remote for our string lights to hold. He was perfectly content, just being with his parents, not eating breakfast or playing in the living room.
Peter demonstrated the childlike peace we can all find in God.
How often do we worry about the future? Or become anxious with the present? All of us tend to dwell on the past. What does it add to our lives? Nothing.
Stress and anxiety are crosses we all have to bear. To be fair, there are a lot of responsibilities we are all called to handle. It’s difficult to not worry for the future when our children are sick, we’re in chronic pain, or finances are tight. God does not ask us to abandon our responsibilities. He offers to carry the burden with us. If we ask.
Joshua and I did not ask Peter to stop being upset and go back to sleep. We welcomed him into our room and offered our presence to him. That was all he needed: to not be alone. God is a loving father who does the same for all of us. He extends His presence in our times of distress. But, parents do not know a child needs us until he cries. God cannot extend His hand until we pray out to Him, even though He’s always ready.
Do not walk through your difficulties alone. Cry out to the Father. Rest with childlike peace in His presence.
