I’ve had the joy of holding our grandchildren many times now as they drift off to sleep for a nap or bedtime. Our granddaughter has an exact pattern for how she places her blankets on my shoulders, then snuggles up against me as I softly hum through her familiar repertoire of songs. Her eyes become heavy. I hear her breathing become relaxed and rhythmic, and soon she sleepily crawls onto her bed. I cover her gently with her special blankets and sit there quietly for a few moments.

Her room is decorated in a Peter Pan theme. There is a picture our daughter made for her that says, “Never grow up.” I gaze at that and ponder it in agreement before I walk out of this sweet child’s room.  My thoughts go to how blessed I am to have been given such joys as our grandchildren. They smile and laugh so easily. They cry and scream when they need to. Our granddaughter takes delight in the simplest and purest of activities, running around our backyard, laughing, until she falls over in a heap of giggles. We go on walks, and she takes in every sight and sound. Her questions are endless, “What’s that, Mimi? What’s that, Papa?” She trusts my husband and me with childlike faith because she knows we love her deeply.

I think we’ve all grown up too much in a lot of ways. The harshness of life grew us up. We believe the myth that we’re self-sustaining. We’ve lost that childlike faith we once had in a Father who can and will move mountains for us. We make it complicated for others (and for ourselves) to come to Jesus and stay in his presence. It isn’t. Become like a child. I want to be able to be fully real and completely trusting in the presence of my heavenly Father, like our grandchildren are with us. In that same way, I want to “never grow up.”

“At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, ‘Who gets the highest rank in God’s kingdom?’

For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, ‘I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me.'”