Some Heart-Warmers for a Rainy Day :)
"Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.'” ~Luke 18:15-17
Reading this passage always brings my attention to the disciples, and how I'm so much like them in that I've lost a sense of child-like faith and innocence. How rebuked the disciples must have felt when Jesus Himself told them to leave the children in their excitement to greet the Savior. Although we acquire more wisdom as we increase in age, becoming jaded is unfortunately another side effect of aging. We may no longer show the same uninhibited, shameless affection and love towards those around us, and this might especially show in our personal relationship with Jesus. We begin asking Jesus for that great faith and innocence to grow back. Luckily, I have a pretty great resource for a sense of child-like joy: my 5th grade class! They're all 10-11 years old, and I thought it would be a fun idea to have them answer some questions about their perspectives on a garden. The following are the questions I asked them. I hope you enjoy the read and it lifts your spirits :) Hopefully it reminds you a little bit of what it means to be like a child in the eyes of Jesus! :
1. How do you see God's love in a garden?
2. What would you grow if you had your own garden?
Their answers:
"You can see God's love in a garden by looking at all the beautiful flowers and plants. Now think about the ones that died. The ones that are beautiful are people who strive to be more like Jesus and the ones that died are the ones who chose to follow idols and other things. God thinks everyone is beautiful and He wants us all to strive to be like Him and so he continuously blesses us with His love and grace. He always gives us second chances and He always will. He even forgives the people who praise different things. I would grow carrots. I love carrots and I thought about something about carrots: There are some that are bad and do not taste good, the ones that do not taste good are like people who sin and worship idols and the ones that taste really good are like people who follow Jesus and spread His word to other the ones that taste good, who are the people who have been redeemed."
"I see God's love in a garden by looking at the pretty flowers bloom. I see God's love in a blooming flower because if you can see what I see, I see the blooming flower is us and God is taking care of us, making sure we're healthy and that we bloom into His love. I would grow cherries, corn, mangoes, and watermelons because they're all yummy :)"
"I see God's love in a garden when something is being watered. It reminds me how God waters us in the best water in the world and He plants us in the best soil for us to grow in the best way we can. I would grow beets. I would grow beets because I have had them since I was a kid and I just like the taste of them."
"I can see God's love by looking at the seeds. We care and love the seed and we want to keep it healthy. God is like this because he loves, cares, and helps us. I would grow oranges because they are my favorite fruit. It's sweet, sour, and super gooooood."
"God can be the sun and the seed is my love for Him, The sun will make the seed grow and that means our love in God will grow. If I had my own garden I would definitely grow potatoes because everyone loves potatoes. :)"
Written by: Ann Lee and her 5th grade class