A Child’s Mind |

When I was in first grade,some___ years ago now, I seemed to always need to use the restroom before it was break time. The teacher had strict rules about this. We had to wait till one of our breaks to go, but, being in first grade and all, I guess I didn’t use my break time wisely. Upon sharing my dilemma with my Mom, she suggested that I quote a verse in my mind to help me not think about needing to go to the restroom. She said “Just say Psalm 23:1 over and over and see if that helps.”

Sure, I could do that.

The next time it happened, which was probably the very next day, I took her advice.

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” I thought to myself. “What?, I shall not want? That’s not right! Of course, I want the Lord!” I thought. I mulled over this verse for a while. “Why would Mom have me say a verse like that? Why would there even BE a verse like that in the Bible? This is terrible!”

Before I knew it, it was break time! Mom’s idea worked, but not the way she thought it would.

At some point, I figured out that the verse is saying, “The LORD is my shepherd; [therefore, I shall not have need of anything.]” It wasn’t saying, “The LORD is my shepherd: I shall not want [Him].” But, in my childish mind, that’s what I thought it said.

Yesterday, my daughter, Leslie, heard a girl talking about “Chinese fighting fish”. She asked her in a serious tone, “Do they fight Chinese people?” I saw again how innocent, trusting and literal a child’s mind is. How careful we must be to explain ourselves, and God’s Word, in a way that they can understand. They are smarter than we think; they are trying to wrap their minds around the things we tell them. It is important that we make God’s Word clear, and that we explain it lovingly and patiently.

Valerie