A Childlike Joy

This morning at church there was a young boy, probably around 2 years old sitting in front of me with his family. He was well behaved and quiet for the better part of the service, dancing and clapping during worship and sitting quietly through the message. As most children do, he eventually because restless and upon discovering myself behind him, he began to integrate me into his own personal worship service. He would hand me paper, then immediately gesture that I should give it back. This process repeated many times. And each time he would smile and sort of bounce in his seat. He would occasionally turn back around and sit for a bit, or slide from the chair to dig through the bag of goodies at his moms feet. When he produced a snack pack, she obliged him by pulling out a cracker, which he proceeded to eat by sticking it in his mouth along with entire hand. He looked at me while chewing happily, at which I couldn’t help but smile. When he saw me smiling, he gestured to his mother for another, and once it was in hand, he turned back to me and reached the snack toward me, to take as I had the paper we’d been trading earlier. When I went to give it back to him, he hesitated, as if he wanted me to keep it. I leaned forward again to give it back. This time he took the tasty bit and munched on it in the same manner that the first has disappeared. I have to admit, that the better part of 10 or 15 minutes of today’s service were wasted on me as I focused my attention on this small bundle of energy seated in front of me. But I cannot complain about the interactions I had with this young boy today, or the smile it brought to my face, or the contentment it brought to me soul seeing how a few simple gestures from me was enough to make him giggle and enjoy service this morning.

In life, we often get caught up in the struggle of making it through the days. The struggle of balancing schedules, sorting through challenges, and handling the emotion brought forward. It’s easy to find yourself focused on everything going wrong. But this morning I was reminded how easy it can be to find joy in simplicity. And how easy it is to bring joy to others in the process of finding that joy for yourself. To live life and experience moments of childlike joy is something we should all strive toward.