Like a child

It was not quite 8 a.m. and as I was walking with Spider down streets still devoid of people, a little boy I don't know called out to me heartily from his front porch: "Today's my birthday!"

The notion of it was suddenly utterly delightful to me, as was this shared secret with a fellow earth traveler in an unrepeatable moment in time. "Is it really! That's fantastic!" I said. "What's the date today?" He cocked his head to think a second or two: "March 19th." "How old are you now?" "Six!" "I hope you have a wonderful birthday today!" I said (Everything was exclamation points.) "I will!" he said, as a foregone conclusion.

Remember the days when you didn't need context to bring up a subject? All thoughts important to you were instantly relevant. Your friends, to their undying credit, didn't think you weird but were on board without missing a beat, and ready to go with the flow.

Remember the days when you could expect that something that was good news to you would of course be good news to everyone? Even some strange middle-aged lady walking her dog?

No wonder God loves children especially. I wonder if I can become enough like one again that people over age six will feel free to tell me something out of context, and be able to trust that I care.

"Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it" (Luke 18:17)