Every Little Thing

My kids have to come tell me everything. When they’re happy. When they’re sad. When they’re bored. Every accomplishment. Every excitement. Cool things in a book. Questions about something. New thoughts. Old thoughts. Jokes, both good and, well, not so good. Antics of a cat. A squirrel sighting (very common). A crop duster or tractor sighting (even more common!). Every little thing.

When they come, they come with great emotion. Sometimes it is excitement that is almost so overwhelming they can’t even speak clearly! Olivia will dive right into the middle of a thought and speak so quickly that I have to slow her down and remind her to explain to me what she’s talking about. Steven, meanwhile, will usually jump up and down so much in the telling that he almost cannot complete a sentence.

Other times there is much more sad emotion. Perhaps they comes with tears so great they can’t even talk. Or maybe it’s with that high-pitched whininess that produces a language I don’t understand. It could even be discouragement or blahness that results in slow, drawn-out, tired-sounding speech.

And then there are the hurts. The cuts and scrapes that need treatment. The mosquito bites needing relief. The bumps on the head that can only feel better once they’ve been kissed. But there are also the times when they bite their tongues or bruise themselves. Those are the times when there is nothing I can do. And they know it. But, they want to come to me anyway, even if just to get a comforting hug.

Whatever the situation, there is always something important to tell Mommy. And, although there are days when it can get a little tiring, it truly is wonderful to have children who want to tell me everything (well, except maybe when it’s time to confess!).

We can learn a lot from our children and their interactions with us. Maybe sometimes we are a little too wise in our old age. We think we know all too well what things are worth sharing with our Father and what things are just piddly and unimportant. So, we hold back those things we deem unimportant. In the process, we lose so much.

Our Father knows it all. There is nothing we can tell Him that He's not aware of already. But, He still delights in every little thing shared. In fact, unlike me, He never grows tired of our stories and antics. There might be days when He would rather us not whine, but I think even whining to Him is better than our silence.

There is so much we miss when we hold back in silence. We miss knowing that He is smiling at our excitement. We miss watching His tears fall with ours over our sadness. We miss the comfort that comes from nestling in His arms, even when we know whatever hurt we're dealing with needs to run the course of healing.

While there are days when I am less patient with my children's continual sharing, I regularly remind myself of how much I love it. And, that reminder sends a gentle nudge to my soul to let me know that my Father wants to hear more from me.