Childlike Faith
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Luke 18:17 - Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
When I was around five
For Christmas, I received one of those
Easy Bake Ovens that I’d hoped for
There was a problem with this gift, though
Being an only child left me with a challenge
Finding someone older to read me the directions
Guidelines to the recipes for those delicious cakes
Loretta was my aunt and I loved playing with her
She would sit for hours listening to my childish visions
Whispering and playing, pretending, faithfully
Enjoying the moments in a way that only those
Who are childlike and filled with faith in God
Can really enjoy the moments, with simplicity
That sings to the heart with gentle fulfillment
“Ok,” I bossed in my little girl wisdom…
“come on, Loretta… “ and I pulled her toward my room
Where the Easy Bake oven waited for us.
Taking out the boxed cake mix in my favorite flavor
Chocolate! – I handed her the empty box
As I started to pour the mix into a small bowl.
“You read me the directions and I’ll mix the cake”
She grinned at me, laughed through her smile
And shrugged, “I can’t read”
Now I was no fool! I knew, from all my worldliness,
That all adults could read – and Loretta was definitely an adult
“You’re lying,” I accused her and knew my voice was getting louder
As she continued to deny her ability to read and I, despite her denials,
Told her I knew she was able to do the very things she denied.
Finally, certain that she was lying, I went out to the living room
Where all the adults were gathered around a tv screen
“Loretta can read,” I told them, and asked, “Can’t she?”
To my surprise, my grandpa, the most trusted adult of them all, told me,
“No, she can’t”
Struggling to understand, I dropped my head and went back to my room
Loretta sat there waiting, smiling and laughing at my astonishment
“I told you so,” she spoke and that is when I first knew
Loretta was different – a child in an adult body.
Why? What could it mean? Someone had to explain.
It would be years before I realized that my aunt, who I loved
And couldn’t wait to play with when we visited my grandparents,
Had been struck with a illness when she was a young child
And that affliction had left her without her full mental capacity
Her limbs were left unparalyzed, but her mind had been struck
With paralysis from those moments so long before I was born
And it took me some time to comprehend the nature of her heart
Which lived in a state of childlike faith that encouraged me to believe
That being a child, as an adult, is something of a gift from God’s hand
Today, years after Loretta’s death, I have no doubt that she has entered into the kingdom of God – with a heart untainted by this world and it’s curses!
Copyright © Regina Mcintosh | Year Posted 2021
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