Last week Nicole and I had to take Ava to the doctor. As usual, we spent a good while in the waiting room before it was our turn to see the doctor. There were quite a few people in the waiting room that day, and Ava made her way over to play with a little boy not too far from us. The little boy was a couple of years older than Ava, and incidently he was African American. This little man was quite the gentleman. He obvioulsy understood that Ava was younger than himself, and he was very gracioulsy sharing his toys.
We watched them play for a while and chatted some with the boy's mom. As I watched the two beautiful kids interact, I couldn't help but wonder what Ava thinks about differences in skin color. She is too young to have any prejudices or stereotypes, but surely she must look around at a group of people and notice differences in hair color, skin tone and maybe even accents. What about the little boy? What does he think when he notices differences? As the two continued to play, I may have gotten my answer. The two were playing and having a great time together. All of a sudden, out of the blue, Ava leaned up to give the little boy a kiss. It was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen. If she tries to kiss random boys a few years from now, we might just have a problem :) but this was one of the most innocent displays of love and affection that I have ever been blessed to witness.
I don't know anything about that sweet little boy or his family, apart from those few minutes in that waiting room. However, since that time, I have thought quite a bit about what Ava must have been thinking. She was expressing her love freely, in spite of any differences in race, social class or even the reason he was going to see the doctor. How things change for the worse as people grow! No wonder Jesus told a group of adults that they would have to become like children if they truly wanted to enter His kingdom. I have never ceased to be amazed at what I can learn from children, most of all my own. I think I'll share some more of the lessons the Lord has hand picked for me that have come through my precious daughter. Stay tuned . . .
We watched them play for a while and chatted some with the boy's mom. As I watched the two beautiful kids interact, I couldn't help but wonder what Ava thinks about differences in skin color. She is too young to have any prejudices or stereotypes, but surely she must look around at a group of people and notice differences in hair color, skin tone and maybe even accents. What about the little boy? What does he think when he notices differences? As the two continued to play, I may have gotten my answer. The two were playing and having a great time together. All of a sudden, out of the blue, Ava leaned up to give the little boy a kiss. It was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen. If she tries to kiss random boys a few years from now, we might just have a problem :) but this was one of the most innocent displays of love and affection that I have ever been blessed to witness.
I don't know anything about that sweet little boy or his family, apart from those few minutes in that waiting room. However, since that time, I have thought quite a bit about what Ava must have been thinking. She was expressing her love freely, in spite of any differences in race, social class or even the reason he was going to see the doctor. How things change for the worse as people grow! No wonder Jesus told a group of adults that they would have to become like children if they truly wanted to enter His kingdom. I have never ceased to be amazed at what I can learn from children, most of all my own. I think I'll share some more of the lessons the Lord has hand picked for me that have come through my precious daughter. Stay tuned . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment