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There’s a stage in a child’s life where they want to be helpful.
Of course, it’s not in the way you want them to be helpful – at least not in my opinion. Cleaning up after themselves? Doing things the first time they’re told? Nah, those things aren’t helpful.
But a 3 year old helping me make dinner – now that is super helpful. Especially if I want it to take twice as long to make and me stressing out more than the child is going to get burned or break something.
Even so, it is sweet that they want to help. They just want to be older and do what we do. So naive.
It’s kind of like how we are with God. Except that God not only likes it when we help, but that’s kind of His whole game plan. Does God need us to bring others to heaven? Does God need us to heal the world? Not in the slightest.
But out of His infinite love and wisdom, that is what He desires. Even if we break some plates and get hurt, God wants us to help, even though we get in the way.
Maybe that’s part of the reason why Jesus told His disciples (us) that we need to become like children – because as children, they just have this desire to help because they want to spend time with us and do what we do. That’s what God wants. As adults, we might want to do what God wants, but we want to do it on our own and in our own way.
I need to be better at allowing – and appreciating – my children’s help, even if it isn’t all that helpful. Getting to be a part of what we do helps them to feel included and loved.
I also need to recognize that I can’t just sit idly and selfishly do what I want. God wants us to bring His love in the world. Even though God could do it better, and He has others who are more efficient and know how to do it right, that can’t be my excuse to sit back and do nothing.
