The Beauty of a Child Like Mind

I have realized something that I have learned from working and volunteering with disabled people over the last few years. I often find there is so much I can learn from the people I work with, they contain something that most people sadly lose in life; they have a childlike hope and innocence when looking at life and most importantly - those that do - hold a simple faith and love for the Divine.

                I often find myself getting lost in ideas of life and all my personal theologies. I worry often about missing out on something or getting the wrong idea about who the Divine is and who He would want me to be. By monitoring everything I lose out on the simple moments of the Divines love for me. This is not the case for many I have worked with. Some people, I know, look at them and feel remorse or question God on the equal love He claims, but I don’t. I see a beautiful soul blessed with the wonder and beauty of a child’s mind. For a child, everything is simple. Doubt often hasn’t begun to creep up on them quite yet.

                I look at Geoff and see a strong and beautiful faith. He may not grasp the whole concept or many of the ideas; regardless, he loves those moments he can sit and listen to his Bible music for hours on end. What he knows to be true in that moment is the contentment and joy that he feels. He doesn’t worry about what he has or hasn’t done to please God and he doesn’t wallow on the mistakes he may have made along the way. He doesn’t even worry about the purpose of his life. He just rests in the presence he knows is there among those old hymns and children’s church Bible songs. To be able to have a simple pure belief in something like that seems magical; seems impossible.

                I started a job three weeks ago working with a little girl who has infantile refsum; she is blind, deaf and developmentally disabled. I have already fallen in love with her and the job. I also look at the little girl I work with; her understanding even less. Instead of Bible songs her playlist usually consists of The Beatles. Though she doesn’t live in a Christian home I’d like to believe that God reaches her too. In the morning the one thing she hears from her parents is “Goodmorning, mommy loves you ….Daddy loves you.”  God says he opens the eyes of the blind; every morning I see this beautiful little girl that can’t see a thing but I believe her eyes are opened to the Abba’s immense  and SIMPLE love through the love expressed by her earthly parents and hopefully in the moments I spend with her as well. I see so much of the grace and beauty of God in her smile. I have to laugh to myself when I hear her laughing out loud lying by herself in her room though she has no sight or sound to stimulate that laughter. I believe God is whispering His love for her in those moments; she may be laughing at the pure joy there is in knowing you are unconditionally loved or she may be laughing that we don’t all see it as simply as she does.

                I remember being at a worship concert and seeing a boy going all out in worship; the people leading from the front then asked the audience to hold hands amongst each other. I saw this boy look around for someone to hold his hand, but no one offered or was willing to. I walked over to this boy and asked if he would like to hold my hand; I then saw his face light up. For the next song I watched him crying out to God his head turned upwards his free hand in the air. I watched this boy’s simple faith and was amazed, and was jealous, and was inspired. This boy had down syndrome. This boy was beautiful.

                We could all learn a lot about life and who God is and the love He offers from the people we too often disregard as incompetent and who we expect to know little to nothing about God, Theology and life. Trust me; they are often some of the smartest people I know.