I love kids. I’m
that girl that is constantly being forwarded or tagged in clips of kids doing
funny, weird, or downright adorable things.
I’ve loved kids
forever – my friends often tease me and imitate the faces I make at random
children. That girl cooing over your child at the shopping centre? That’s me.
The girl holding your baby (and yes, we’ve probably only just met)? Me. The
psychopath describing your baby to you as ‘edible,’ ‘squishy’ or telling you
they want to take a bite out of your child’s fatness? Me. Yes, I’m not being
literal (it’s sad I have to clarify that), but the point is this: I love kids.
Until today, I’ve never really thought about it that
much. Yes, kids are awesome, but why do they have this effect on us? Why can we
watch them for hours on end, seem to have infinitely more patience for them and
just want to be around them?
I think I’ve figured it out: at least for me. Joy.
The uncontainable, beautiful, unhinged joy children possess and emanate in
their every action. There is nothing more amazing to watch.
They remind us that no matter how bad things are, a
smile can light up the room. Laughter is a song that can often make your soul
remember how good life can be. It’s funny – the littler the person, the bigger
the soul, the more beautiful their joy appears to those around them.
We were given a commandment to “be fruitful and
multiply.” God knows what He’s doing – children teach us love, patience, hope,
service. They show us to be pleased with the littlest things in life, a fun
song, a colourful something, a ball, our parents, our carers. Watch the way a
mother cares for her child, or how much she goes through to bring a child into
the world and you’ll suddenly be grateful for both the big and small things our
mothers do and endure for us. If we were all like that, don’t you think we’d
all be happier?
If we were like children, little and innocent,
grateful and trusting – would not most of our troubles simply dissipate?
St. JPII **The Great** (yes, I’m a junkie – let’s not
dwell too much on this point) told us: “we need to make a bigger deal out of
ordinary love.” Isn’t this what mothers have been saying for generations? We
can’t forget the monotony and unremarkable everyday actions exhibited every day
that rather than frustrate us, should show us how to love one another.
Uncle Fults clarifies to us: “a mother is a double
benefactor to humanity: its physical preserver, and its moral provider. Through
life, and through the high personal qualities of her children, she is the
universe's constant challenge to death, the messenger of cosmic plenitude and
the bearer of eternal realities.”
When we rejoice in children, when we spend time with
them and love them with a Christlike love, we can not help but be struck by how
much we learn – little people are wiser than we give them credit for!
"She's not heavy, she's my sister..."
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