Baseball and big smiles…

This picture reminds me of the joy of being a child. The one with the big smile is Luke Brown and he’s in my Sunday School class. 

They were in the Little League World Series and won this game - he exudes the joy that success can bring, and he shows the spirit of a child that is loving life.

We all need that kind of joy…

The problem is that we get older and we focus more on the issues, problems, challenges and failures that we experience. Our negative experiences dampen our spirits and we lose the joy of a child.

Jesus made it obvious that he wanted little children to come to Him. I think that the childlike faith, that they have, is one reason, but I also think that the uncluttered minds and hearts may be another.

A child has some great advantages…

1. They truly don’t have the clutter that an adult has.

We have so much that gets in the way of what we do. We have 100’s of things running through our minds all the time and it’s often hard to dig through. We allow burdens to build up and that causes hurt, pain, failure and stress. 

When a child is stressed, he simply cries and gets on with life. Whoa - seriously - they just let the emotion out and move on to the next thing. 

With us, we let everything get huge and make the preverbal mountain out of a mole hill. I’m not saying we need to sit around a cry all the time, but I would say that we need to release and just move on from the burdens. Does worrying help anything at all, anyway?

Do you need to get rid of the clutter?

2. They get joy out of the little things.

This may be my favorite!

Children just love the small stuff…

Watching an ant trail…

Hitting a double in a baseball game…

Laughing out loud at someone burping…

Eating a candy bar…

Watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon…

Sitting with friends talking…

Playing a game…

It’s not the big stuff that gives them joy, it’s almost all stuff that gives them joy. 

I know that ute joy comes from the Lord, but I see that it’s inherently in a child, and they just love life. I want that all the time. I want to sit and watch some ants. I want to smile at someone burping. I want to grin form ear to ear as I eat a snickers bar. I want that kdin of joy.

Do you have that kind of simple joy?

3. They get along with others better.

Looking at the kids that played in the little league world series reminded me of this. They competed on the field, but then went back to their dorms and played ping-pong together and laughed at the same things, even though they were there to win their competitions. 

They got along! 

We, as adults, let all sorts of things get in-between our friendships and we stop getting along with others. I know that we can’t fit in or be comfortable with everyone, but we’ve lost this simple art of playing together well.

Do you miss getting along?

Lessons Learned: Being like a child can really impact your life.

Thoughts: Are you applying lessons learned as a child?

#failalot

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