Mr. Anderson

I cannot even recall what praise song we were singing. What I do remember is noticing the little toddler two rows in front of me. I’m not the type of girl who “just adores children,” but I had very randomly babysat for a Bible study almost a year ago. The experience confirmed that despite the fact that I am not particularly fond of children in general, this little one had won me over pretty severely. At any rate, the blond haired boy was currently attempting to color. His mother had given him a small box of four crayons. His tiny fingers worked diligently and deliberately to open the small cardboard flap to get to the bright colors of green, purple, red, and yellow. Very predictably, one of the crayons fell behind the chair that his Paul Revere coloring book laid open on. Reaching his hand between the small opening where the chair’s back and seat met, he quickly realized his arm wasn’t even close to being long enough to retrieve his green crayon. Immediately, body still straining in apparent effort, he looked up to the girl in the row between us. Though he seems too young to be verbally articulate at all, his blue eyes’ desperate plead for the girl’s assistance was more then adequate communication. Watching that whole scene unfold and seeing the complete and unchecked desire in the young child’s eyes made me wonder about how it seems we all so easily and commonly lose that ability to be so aware and present of ourselves…of our desires and short comings. It seems to me that most of us are more then reluctant to realize and admit our inadequacies much less actually ask for help. I think that it is common to view strength as not needing anything but ourselves. Aren’t we a silly lot? All of us so obviously in need of something greater then ourselves, yet how many of us walk out our lives without denying or trying to cover up our short comings? Something inside of me deeply longs for the freedom to be able to journey exposed, but such humility seems far too foreign…that kind of vulnerability requires too much trust.