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lessons from kids

Yesterday a friend remarked, "With kids, you're reminded that life goes on." And I think that's such a blessing. There's a multitude of little bodies with unique personalities, playing, laughing, asking questions, arguing, and despite the inner feelings and turmoil, it's a reminder that just because of the pain life has not stopped. Sometimes that knowledge can be painful itself, as you want the world to stop and cry with you, but it doesn't.

And I've thought about this principle a lot this week. The wife of a future church planter is battling cancer.  http://lifeasalewis.blogspot.com  Her recent post dealt with the sickness and her thoughts, but also included a pic of her daughter. She had a new, flowy dress and was certain it would make a great picture of it twirling. Life goes on, and there's nothing like a child to remind us of that, to help us focus on the daily here and now, that we don't all share the same "this is important and critical" thoughts.

Our nieces and nephews start back to school in a few weeks. My prayers for them have been that they will learn, be respectful to authority, and grow as an example in Christ. Their prayers are for one more day of summer and that their friends will be in their class. Priorities, Aunt Monica!

If nothing else, children make us take our minds off ourselves and focus on others (okay, on themselves). When my oldest niece was not quite 2, we had a very tragic death in our family. When my sister and her family arrived, the antics of my niece made my Dad smile, something I had not seen the entire week. That was a healing moment for our family, a glimpse that we both would and could smile and laugh through the pain, a glimmer of hope that life might actually return to a different but good form of normal. In her curiosity and normal toddler examination of life, she reminded us that life is good and exciting.

I've been thinking about those scenarios a lot this morning. How life goes on, even with sickness and pain, and how thankful I am that God provides children to help us realize it.

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