Seeing Life Through the Lens of a Child

When’s the last time you allowed your mind to see the world from a child’s perspective? To look at life the way they do? To respond in the way they do?

We have a 4-year-old in our home and I must admit, living life through her eyes, has been absolutely beautiful. Let’s start with putting ornaments on the Christmas tree. We had to talk about every single one of them and put it in a specific spot. Because that’s just “what we did.” Time wasn’t of the essence. There was no concept of how many we had to go – just how many were still stuffed in that box. She looked at each one, valued each one, and after she hung it on the tree, only then she’d move on to the next. Meanwhile, my adult mind kept thinking, “This is truly going to be an all-day affair…I have to get ‘this’ done…and the fleeting thought of ‘this is taking WAY too long.'”

Then I pulled out my phone and did the ole Instagram pic. As I looked at the photographic moment, then back at my daughter, I humbly realized I sure have a whole lot to learn from my sweet little daughter. Looking through life through her bright blue eyes, I tend to see life a little more clearly.

Children have a way of reminding us to take a step back. To enjoy the moment. To just move on. Children are…

Are wowed by the little things in life

From caterpillars to the giant brown leaf on the ground, looking at nature through the eyes of a child brings a whole new perspective. Some of my best memories as a child were from laying in the grass at my parents, staring up at the clouds, deciding what animal was floating. Children have a way of seeing the little details of life that as adults, we often overlook. Do I take time to smell the fresh air? To look at the beauty of a sunset? Even the uniqueness of each snowflake?

Everything is treasured with precious preservation

Nothing, I mean NOTHING, is wasted in a child’s eye. If only I saw everything I had, as such. From that little feather from a birdie, a smooth rock, a piece of Styrofoam, and oh that good ole Amazon shipping box. And don’t you DARE throw it away because YOU KNOW with a doubt, that they will find it, no matter what garbage or recycling bin you put it in. It is cared for. Loved. Treasured. Does every item I have, bring me joy? Do I have a purpose for everything I have in our home? Would I miss it if it was gone? Am I grateful for everything I have?

Take our word for it

One of the biggest things I want our daughter to learn is to trust us as her parents. I want to say something and for her to believe me. For her to trust that I will always love, protect, and ensure she is safe. Not only that, when I say something is okay, even if she has a little hesitancy, she takes my word for it. Children have a way of believing, when they hear something, to believe it to be true. A child’s innocence, so pure. But our broken world, the lies, deception, and selfish motives, as adults, make us have to question everything. And yet we want our children to believe everything we say. What a high calling that is, to always speak truth. To act with truth. To respond in truth. So that when our children do take our word for it, it will blossom into truth for them.

Dreams are endless

Girl, you wear that Frozen dress! Buddy, you wear that dinosaur shirt 3 days in a row. Keep dreaming that you will one day be a teacher. Meet Elsa. Own a horse. Be the president. You don’t care what other people think. As big as a child’s dreams can be, oh do they simplify life! God has called us to live our best for him. And if we can do that with endless dreams and do it all for his glory, that’s a life well lived.

Move on

As much as children hang onto the silliest, most trivial issues in life, one thing they really are good at, is moving on. I can get frustrated when our daughter for 15 minutes, can’t get over the fact that I asked her to pick up her toys. Or put on her shoes. Even eat one bite of her food. As long as those 15 minutes may feel, in the end, she completely forgets about the incident and just moves on. When someone hurts her feelings, she moves on. No grudges held. And at the end of the night, she always, ALWAYS puts aside the worries of the day and falls asleep. Can we say the same? Even if she asks a few questions while trying to fall asleep, she still sets it all aside and just lets life be. And lives with the confidence that his mercies are new every morning [Lamentations 3:23]

Children live unashamed. Unapologetic. If they want to know the answer to something, they will just ask, not caring what anyone thinks. Maybe to the embarrassment of their parents, but they don’t care! So why do we care so much what other people think? Why do we so sheepishly walk through life, worried what someone might think? At the end, I want others to say that I have lived life unashamed. Unapologetic. No matter what age in life, I forever want to see life through the lens of a child.