“When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’” (Mark 10:14-15, NIV) We often hear the phrase "faith like a child" come out of the mouths of Christians. It's a phrase that has become a common thing to say when we talk about our faith. But what does childlike faith look like? Is it blind trust? Simplistic? 

​​Having a rambunctious and intelligent 16-month-old I would argue no. It's not blind, it's inquisitive. It's complex and exciting and sometimes a little overwhelming. One of my favorite things to do with my son is watching him try new things. It's fun to watch his face as he explores the world around him. The other day he was playing with two empty bottles, (because apparently toys are boring) a 20 oz bottle and a 2 liter to be exact. He was looking at them one in each hand, comparing them to each other. He then balanced one on its cap and just stared at them for a minute. So inquisitive! He's recently learned how to "kick it" and loves to go outside and play kick it with his ball. And, he lives to go swimming. But what does any of this have to do with having faith like a child? Let’s look deeper.

My son is in swim lessons and one of the things we do each time is, he stands up on the side of the pool and is instructed to jump to me. The water is 4 feet deep. I'm two steps away from the wall, and he's not wearing any floatation device. When we did this in his first swim lesson at just over a year old I was panicking inside when the teacher told me what we were going to do. But I took a breath and said jump. He smiled and even squealed in excitement as he jumped into my arms! Was that blind Faith? No, it wasn't. It was fearless (on his part) but not blind because he trusted his momma. He knows that mommy would never put him in danger. He knows I will catch him. So he excitedly jumped into my arms without fear of the waters.

To have faith like a child is to understand who your God is and to be excited about life in him, to be teachable, inquisitive even. And because of that knowledge and that relationship with him, you trust him when he says "jump". You can do it because you know he won't let you drowned. There's nothing simple or blind about it. It's wide eyed, it's complicated, it's amazing, and sometimes overwhelming to see how God works for the good of those who trust in Him. Child-like faith is knowledgeable not blind.

I took in every moment. I watched as tired mommies surrounded me at doctor visits, all somber from exhaustion, fatigue, nausea and swollen feet. And then there was me, smiling from ear to ear and announcing how great my day was! I'm sure they wanted me to leave before I could even sit! But I just couldn't help it! No matter how sleepless my nights were, how nauseous I felt, how swollen I was, or how huge my belly got, I was pregnant, and I was reveling in it! My husband had tummy time every chance he got, promising our little peanut the world and so much more. We had our baby shower on Madison's birthday weekend. We celebrated two lives that day. Our daughter who sits with the Lord and our daughter who will serve Him here. On October 9, 2018 our little girl was born. As they went about their routine, a nurse came to my husband and I and asked what name we had for her. I remembered again, what was whispered to me four years before, and I looked up and smiled and said, "Her name is Evanora Gene." "So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there." -1 Samuel 1:28 (NIV)