As A Little Child

This past weekend my wife and I went to a birthday party for her coworker's 2 year old son. It was an interesting scenario when we arrived - the only two year old at the party was birthday boy. The crowd consisted of his parents, grandparents, and assorted friends.

The most peculiar part of the afternoon, and the focus of this post, came when it was time to open the presents. There were a number of gifts for the little guy. Remember, this is his second birthday, he doesn't quite get the idea yet - at least the idea that WE think that he should get- so he's fairly unimpressed with all of the fuss.

One of the first gifts he opens was a plastic fire engine. This like a Fisher Price toy. Sturdy, lots of buttons that, when pushed, make noises, and those damn twist-ties that hold the toy to the cardboard so that...? What purpose do they serve anyway?

The little guy's eyes pop out. He is totally enamored by the toy. He starts riding on it, pushing the buttons, trying to pry the little men out of their seats (they are wired in with twist-ties too). A picture of total focus and satisfaction; happy as a pig in... well, you get the idea.

The problem was that the parents were trying to get him to open the other presents. He wanted nothing to do with any other gift. In fact, watching this fiasco, I was thinking "why does he have to open the other presents anyway?" Whatever the reason was, it had nothing to do with the child. Eventually, the fire truck had to be taken away from him so he would turn his attention to the other presents. After some effort on the part of his parents all of the presents were opened and he was able to return to playing with his fire truck again. Life was good.

As I reflected on this I realized that this is a picture of contentment, or lack thereof. Birthday boy doesn't yet have the mentality of looking past what he has to what he can obtain next - like we more mature folks have perfected. He was oblivious to the other gifts (though they were rightfully his) because he was intent on enjoying what he had in his hands.

What a lesson for many of us who are caught in a never ending pursuit of "whatever." I wonder how long it would have taken for him to eventually open all of the other gifts if he hadn't been prompted? Maybe days? Sadly, in a few years he may learn the ways of the discontented...looking for the next thing.

Until then, maybe he can be an inspiration for me to be content with what I already have - exploring life with intense wonder and curiosity.

Maybe that's part of what Jesus meant when he said that we should be "like a child?"

God, reignite child-like wonder, imagination, and curiosity in us all.


WH