One of the things I cherish about my grandchildren is how often they make me laugh. We recently celebrated our grandson Jack’s 7th birthday. He’s reached the age where he enjoys having money to do his own shopping, so we put a fifty-dollar bill in his birthday card and told him we’d go shopping with him the next day. He had no trouble planning our itinerary.
Knowing how much he loves key lime pie (and since that was his choice instead of birthday cake), we stopped at the store to get him one that night. My husband handed Jack’s dad, our son Tim, a twenty to go in and get the pie. As Tim shut the door and walked off, Jack said, “Please tell me that wasn’t my fifty-dollar bill.” Oh my, how we laughed!
And while we were in Florida recently with some of our kids and grandchildren, we planned a day at the beach. Since our other son and daughter-in-law live there, they know all the best places to go where the beaches won’t be crowded, so we drive to a lovely bay near their home.
I put my swimsuit on and then slipped into a pair of jean capris and a shirt. My little granddaughter, Ava, said, “Grandmama, why are you wearing jeans to the beach?” I told her I didn’t have a cover-up and I’d take the capris off once we got there. That’s when she looked up at me with those beautiful blue eyes and said, “My mama probably has one you could borrow.” Her mama is teensy tiny, and I had passed that size by the time I turned two. So sweet of Ava, but hilarious! Ava looks at me and doesn’t see her pudgy grandmamma; she just sees love. That totally melts my heart.
How Children See God |
With all the problems in our world, can you imagine how different things might be if we looked at others with eyes of love? God’s given us the best example ever. Instead of looking at me and seeing all my flaws, my failures, and the things I’ve done wrong, He just sees His beloved child. He sees my heart that wants to serve Him—even though I mess up so often.
He says it best in I Samuel 16:7: “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
I’m so grateful that He sees me through a divine lens of love and grace. And just as my beloved granddaughter did, I want to extend that kind of love to others.
