“But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19: 14

It is a very special thing to watch the relationship between each of my children and my husband. Although all the kids get excited when he comes home, the bigger ones are often engrossed and don’t always respond straight away, whereas our toddler twins almost always immediately jump up and run to him to greet him. Our daughter in particular is very attached to her Daddy and when he is home (especially over weekends, obviously making up for lost time while he is at work during the week!) she regularly goes up to him and puts up her hands, expecting to be picked up immediately in that way young children do. Young children just expect that their parents want to see them and hold them. They don’t worry about whether they will be accepted or whether they are good enough. They just expect a positive response from the one they love, confident that the love is returned.

As I started thinking about that, I realised that there are so many ways that all our children demonstrate their trust in our provision and our care. They trust us to feed them and clothe them. They trust us to cuddle them when they hurt themselves. They trust us to answer their questions about things I would never have thought to ask. They ask us to help them when they’re stuck up trees or have lego that isn’t doing what they want it to do. They expect us to help them navigate life and to love them deeply. As I think about that, I am challenged about what I expect from, and how I trust in, the Lord. Often, I forget to turn to Him and rely on Him when I am in need or struggling. I forget that He loves me deeply – so deeply that Jesus died so that I could be His friend and adopted into His family. I recently shared my testimony in church – it was so helpful for me to reflect on God’s faithfulness to me over my life. He is faithful and I can trust Him just like a child.