Listen to the Children
By Derek Maul
This column highlights what I see as a prime lesson from our grandchildren.
Here’s the situation. Beks is eight, full of enthusiasm and love for rainbows, unicorns, puppy dogs and all things beautiful and whimsical. David is ten; he is the practical, analytical, “things are supposed to make sense” big brother.
Yet, both children have great compassion and they have been taught from Day One to accept and tolerate and encourage. Then this happened, a couple of days ago. Their mother – our daughter Naomi – recorded the exchange; here’s the transcript:
Beks: “Did you know that the weather man is often wrong? So I think it’s going to downpour, and do you know what would be AMAZING?? If there was a beautiful unicorn that came down from the…”
David: “Sorry but it’s not possible.”
Beks: “STOP IT! Unicorns are real. Ms. Emily showed me proof, and mommy says they live in a remote area of northern Asia. And also in Europe. And if we find one after it jumps from the cloud it will sleep in my room. And you will wish you had a Unicorn too!”
David: “Okay okay! Geeze! I was just saying it would definitely be very surprising if it came down from the cloud! If you can catch one, I think that would be very…uh… neat.”
So why is this worth passing on? Well, both grandchildren have diametrically opposite views of the world, how it works, and what is real. But they are listening to one another. They are trying really hard not to judge, and they are both open to points of view they don’t easily understand.
This really is remarkable when it comes to siblings! So why not – as grown adults – adopt the same attitude when it comes to politics, religion, social issues etc?
Why not just choose to love one another and to listen?
Listen to the children.
– DEREK
Derek is a North Carolina-based writer, journalist, teacher and speaker. He is the author of numerous books on what the Bible reveals as essential in becoming a man of God.
He is convinced that his four grandchildren are exactly the hope and promise that this world needs. His conviction is important to understand because it reveals a lot about his theology, and how he believes our identity as God’s children plays out in the day-to-day experience of living in a world where darkness, disappointment, and defeat are all too common.
He is a committed encourager, and a pilgrim in progress. He divides his time between writing and traveling to speak about the fully engaged life. His passion is to connect people – men and women – with a more vibrant, authentic experience of what he calls “The Life-Charged Life.”
If you would like to read more, check out his author page at Amazon. Also check out his website and his daily blog.
Reading Between The Lines, With Derek Maul is published every Wednesday on Christian Grandfather Magazine.
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