My son just turned seven. Being the youngest and only boy of the family, he constantly amazes me with how different he is from his sisters. As a little boy not yet at the age of reason, his choices are not always very good ones. But no matter what kind of trouble he gets himself into, he remains a boy with a very sweet and tender heart.
Our new backyard is flooded with grasshoppers. I have seen grasshoppers before, but not often. Living all of my previous 34 years of life in the middle of biggish cities, I have not had the opportunity to see very many. But here they abound a plenty. Walk through our large yard, and you will see dozens jumping out of your way. They jump against the house, bounce off the windows, and mate just outside our utility room door.
Yesterday, Tricia and Justin spent about an hour chasing after them trying to "catch" them on the ends of their sticks. They were fascinated, and it was cheap entertainment. I was surprised how long it kept them occupied.
So today, after being in El Paso all day, we got home a little late in the afternoon, but Justin was eager to run outside to his new hopping friends. After a little while, he came in telling stories of removing a grasshopper's back legs. He made the mistake of telling Tricia, who immediately went into little mommy mode and started to scold him. Having heard the whole thing and knowing what he had done, I decided I was not going to make a big deal out of it. Afterall, what little boy hasn't done something of the like to insects? I remember my brother trying to fry ants with his magnifying glass.
Paul, however, heard the incident also, and he decided to explain to Justin that now that the grasshopper didn't have his legs he wouldn't be able to jump, or protect himself. He would have trouble trying to get around to eat, and he probably wouldn't live very long.
This was very hard news for my sweet boy to swallow. He came to me with such a sad face, wanting comfort and feeling so sorry for what he had done to his grasshopper. In his curious distructiveness, he hadn't realized he could hurt it.
A few minutes later he called in to his dad to ask what a grasshopper eats. He wanted to take it to his food to help him live. Then he announced that he wished that "God would have made grasshoppers to help each other out if one of them got hurt." He didn't want the grasshopper to die. He wanted to help it live so it wouldn't become bird food. (We have been watching the birds swoop down and scoop up theses little buggers all week.)
My son's heart really moved me today. How many of us make mistakes, doing something destructive (physically, verbally, or emotionally) that hurts someone else? Do we so quickly realize how we have hurt another? Do we so eagerly want to try to make ammends? To make everything right again? Sometimes we do. But not always. Sometimes it's just too hard to admit when we are wrong. We want to deny that our behavior has been destructive towards something or someone else. We let our pride get in the way of repentance.
I guess watching Justin today was another opportunity to witness exactly what Jesus meant when He said that unless we are like little children we will never inherit the Kingdom of God. Justin wasn't worried about pride or filled with arrogance. He wasn't unwilling to admit that he had done something wrong. And he wasn't afraid to say he was sorry. His concern was not for himself (or getting out of trouble). His heart was tender and pure as he genuinely wanted to help that grasshopper and try to make things right again.
Lord Jesus, thank you for all of the little children, especially the ones you have given to me. Help me teach them your ways, but also help me remember that they are teaching me as well. I love you, Lord! Amen.
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