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SALT LAKE CITY — Have you ever noticed how kids have a way of saying things so spot-on and truthful that at times you find yourself wondering, why can’t I see life that clearly?
Anyone who has spent much time around a child has experienced this. They see things the way they are, and in their own innocent way sometimes express their thoughts without much of a filter — sometimes this can be a humbling thing! This lack of filter seems to be a two-way thing for kids, both in how they express their thoughts and also in how they internalize and interpret the world around them. But it's probably because of that lack of filter that they seem to be able to glean insight in ways we, as tainted adults, sometimes can’t.
"Anyone who has spent much time around a child has experienced this. They see things the way they are, and in their own innocent way sometimes express their thoughts without much of a filter ..."
Which brings me to an experience I recently had with my 3-year-old son, thanks to a children’s book my lifelong friend gave to him two Christmases ago titled, “All the World.” It’s a sweet story with beautiful illustrations following a young boy and his little sister in their journey throughout their world. They come across an ocean, a farmer’s market, a rainstorm, a warm meal in a cozy café, dancing and music with family and a quiet night at home.
The book is in rhyming couplets, which I love, and tells about life experiences from “Slip, trip, stumble fall / Tip the bucket, spill it all / Better luck another day / All the world goes round this way,” to “Nanas, papas, cousins, kin / Piano, harp, and violin / Babies passed from neck to knee / All the world is you and me.” The last line, my favorite, is, “Hope and peace and love and trust / all the world is all of us.”
When I first read this story to our son over a year ago, it was an instant favorite. He often picks it to read at bedtime and loves to tell us about how the boy in the story is like him and the younger sister in the book is like our 2-year-old daughter.
One night, I pulled “All the World” off the shelf and asked him, “Who is this book about?” I was fully expecting him to answer that it is about him and our younger daugther, but instead he answered, “It’s about Jesus."
For a minute after he said this, I was literally at a loss for words. I had one of those moments where I just had to stop and think. I thought about what he said. Then I thought about it more later that night. I guess I was just a little surprised when I really stopped to think about it. I was certain we had never discussed this book in relation to anything religious with him.
I told my husband, who also said he had never said anything along those lines while reading the book to Luke, and we were both a little surprised at Luke's interpretation of the story’s deeper meaning.
"I am starting to realize, more and more, that even though I am the parent, I find my kids teach me more than I can teach them."
I would love to say we are wonderful about teaching our children about Christ and stories from the scriptures, but the truth is I’m sure we have room for improvement in this area. I know our son learns about Jesus at church and when we say prayers and during family night lessons, but I still am amazed that he was able to make this relation — that he came up with likening Christ to a story about being kind, loving, facing challenges, accepting others, embracing family and finding peace and hope.
Less than a week after that happened, we were driving along the freeway after a busy day and I was trying my hardest to keep our son from falling asleep on our drive back. I was asking him all sorts of questions to keep his attention from what we had done that day to what he could see out the car window. At one point, curious to see what his little mind would come up with, I asked, “Who do you think made all the houses and cars and tractors? ”
You can probably already guess what he answered. “Jesus did, Mommy.” He said it so matter-of- factly that it was like a 2-by-4 hitting me over the head. For the second time in less than a week, I was amazed at his insight and wondered why that answer never even crossed my mind until he had to tell me.
I am starting to realize, more and more, that even though I am the parent, I find my kids teach me more than I can teach them.
Maybe part of the reason kids possess that innocent quality of being able to interpret things in simple yet profound ways is so they can relay messages to us adults in the ways we need to hear them so we can understand things a little more clearly ourselves.
Lindsay Ferguson is a wife and a mother of two young children. She writes from home and keeps up a blog at www.lifeasamomuncut.blogspot.com.
