AND WE ARE GRATEFUL

Except ye become as little children ye cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

To become as a little child is the subject of today's "God Calling." To me, the most important part in the reading is: "Seek...until the years have added to your nature that of the trusting child." That is another truth wrapped in a paradox: "Until the years have added to your nature that of the trusting child."

I have that underlined in many different colors, meaning every year that I read it, I am astonished again as if I'd never read it before. I've finally quit underlining, but here's me this morning...astonished again. And wonderfully so. Mainly because it was just very recently that I realized that becoming as a little child is to give up self-determined objectives...no, it is to give up the how-to-get our self-determined objective.

As a little child, we want, we say so, and we never give a thought about how the folks are going to get our want to us. That's probably our first glimpse at the difference between a want and a need...we may or we may not get our want fulfilled, but if it is truly a need, it will be provided.

The years have added to our understanding that a true need will be met by a power greater than self. We come to trust that it will get done, and we no longer natter God about "how to" or even "if." We have especially learned that a met-need may arrive looking like an "OH NO!" And we quick pray our "Thank you" anyhow...with fingers crossed at first, but that's how we learn.

We come to realize the deep abiding comfort in the words, "Thy will, not mine, be done." We have experienced the truth that God's will is better than our will no matter how right and true and good and pretty our will seems to our reasoning mind. And we are grateful.

Thank you.