A LITTLE CHILD WILL LEAD THEM:ISAIAH 11:6

Extracts from book entitled 'Teatime for Women'

A Child's Wisdom by Cheryl Kirking

A few years ago, we decided to give my father a surprise birthday party. My son, who was then four, was especially excited about the party for his grandpa. Bryce spent all day making streamers and paper hats and decorating the house. He instructed his brother and sister where they should hide and how to yell "Surprise" with the proper inflection and zeal.

When the moment of Grandpa's long-awaited appearance finally arrived, Bryce led the troops in the noisy revelry. But, as so often happens in life, reality failed to meet expectations. The party horns refused to toot properly, the guests weren't appropriately enthusiastic, and the cake was not chocolate. Finally, Bryce could take no more disappointments and melted into a sobbing little heap on the floor. Scooping him up in my arms, I took him to a quiet room where he poured out his troubles to me.

"Sweetheart," I asked, as he flopped across on my lap, "what can we do to help you feel better?"

"Oh, Mommy," he cried between heaving sobs, "can we rewind the party?"

"Honey, I wish sometimes that we could do that, but we can't rewind time," I answered, smoothing his golden hair from his damp forehead. "But we can start from right now and find a way to make the rest of the day better."

"Well," he sniffed, "maybe - maybe we could just hit 'pause' a little while before we go back, ok."

"That's a good idea," I answered.

As I quietly rocked my little boy, smelling his sweet hair and feeling his warm little body relax, I realised what an important lesson I had just learned from my child. Sometimes, when life is overwhelming, the best thing to do is to just "hit pause" for a little while.