WHEN I WAS A CHILD

"God is great, and God is good / And we thank him for our food. /By his hand we are fed, / Give us Lord, our daily bread. Amen."

As a little girl, I remember not being able to keep up with my big sister and the other big kids at the Christian kindergarten saying the prayer before meals. I ended up chanting: "God-great-God-good-thank-food-hand-fed-Lord-bread-Amen."

When older, at church, we talked about the holiness of God and determined to stay faithful to the truth, and I really thought I'd progressed, moved on significantly from my toddler ways. It occurred to me we were just saying, "God is great and God is good", just expressing it "smarter" now!

The sentiment "Give us Lord"? That hadn't changed too much either, I realized. Altho' young minds may think "ice cream and chocolate", after a few years, needs and wants change. I'd been praying for school marks, people relationships, and a little later, ministry endeavors.

When we were real little, my older sister did a good job keeping me and my younger sister from being scared of some of the termites we found in the woodwork of the old house. She showed us how to pluck off their wings and play with them like moving little toys or pets.

Some memories of the past, I'd like to leave in the past. How I played with termites is one of them. What I want to be different now is that I hope I can accept gifts from my Heavenly Father and not just devour them but respond automatically in the gratitude and adoration He so desires.