"Up There and In Here"

The other night, I volunteered to teach the children's activities at church. And, for those of you who've ever worked with little kids, you certainly know that you never really know what you're gonna get! You never know what will come out of the mouths of babes (like when I had to correct them for saying "butt" and "shut up." I tried to explain--as I did a lesson on "hiding God's word in our hearts"--that those probably aren't some of God's favorite words).

Sydney was the youngest in our group on Wednesday, and so you have to give her a little leeway in how she handles the discussions and activities. With a three-year-old, you can never fully expect what sort of tangent she can go off on (you know...you're talking about Jesus one moment and then, before you know it, you're talking about Sleeping Beauty!). But, once you get past having to be a little more patient with the younger ones, you realize how much you can truly learn from the littler children.

I've always thought that the younger you are, the closer you are to God in the simplest and most innocent of ways. As we get older, we take things out of perspective...when we really should just be taking an experience or an emotion or an activity for "what it is." There are days when I can feel like I'm pretty connected to God, but then I realize that Sydney is probably a lot closer to Him on most days than I am.

Take, for example, what gem of a lesson she taught me this past Wednesday.

We were talking about how we should hide God's words in our hearts, when she decided to just start talking about God in general. She raised her hand (thank goodness for some of that politeness I'm trying to teach her!), and told all of us, "I know where God is."

I smiled and thought, How sweet, fully anticipating that she would answer with "heaven" or "up in the sky."

But wait for it... cause here comes what I like to call an "aha" or "God moment."

She answered, "Up there," as she pointed to the ceiling,

And then added, "And in here," pointing to her heart.

Up there and in here.

Wow, did that one catch me off guard. I kinda blinked back a little tear, felt the little catch in my throat, and answered her with some sort of theological response appropriate for a group of preschoolers and elementary-aged children. "You're right, Sydney," I said. "He's up in heaven [and "everywhere, really," one of the boys added on. So true, Luke!] and he lives inside of us."

Where she got the concept of God living inside of us...in our hearts...is a bit beyond me. I'd like to think that I talk about those sorts of ideas on a regular basis in everyday conversation (which I try and do), but I also imagine that her three-year-old heart and mind is just able to wrap around the idea in a way that just makes it make sense to her. Of course, God lives up there and in here. "It's quite simple to understand," she probably thinks. "Doesn't everyone realize it?"

I certainly know that it made me stop and think. It made me ponder the fact that I often focus on one or the other, but that I need to connect to the God that is both awesome AND personal.

And it made me stop and thank God for little girls...
for their innocent understanding...
for their close proximity to divine things...
and for the lessons they can teach their Moms.

{and now, because I experimented with my new camera...here are a few pics I took of my theological Sydney this morning. and the cats and the backyard...