Children are our teachers

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON

“We think God’s love rises and falls with our performance. It doesn’t

... He loves you for who you are: you are his child.”

-- MAX LUCADO

“Everyone was meant to share God’s all-abiding love and care; He

saw that we would need to know a way to let these feelings show...so

God made hugs.”

-- JILL WOLF

I loved being a child, I loved having children and now my husband

Jon and I are realizing how much we love our little grandchild Mary.

In fact, whenever baby Mary is around, we have debates over who gets

to hold her. We stare at her while she sleeps, we comment on her

every move and we talk about her when she isn’t here. I’ve seen how

much her parents Kelly and Ryan love her; no matter what she does or

doesn’t do, she doesn’t have to perform in any way at all. They love

her and she is their child.

Occasionally, I think God will love me more if I act in a certain

way, but the more I learn about God, the more I realize that God

offers us unconditional love, because we are his children.

Children can teach us so much, if we are willing to listen and

learn. I recently spoke with Francesca, our 9-year old niece, about

God and his love. Francesca loves life, she loves God and she loves

others with a special zeal. Her sparkling blue eyes and never-ending

smile light up every room she enters. She gives hugs of love and has

a laugh that is contagious. She had many great insights, and I am

happy to share some of them with you today:

“God is a very loving God and he shows us his love in many ways.

One way that God shows his love is by what he gives to us. He gives

us air to breathe and sunshine to keep us warm and gives us light in

the dark night. God gives us just enough rain at just the right time.

“Another way that God shows his love is by the shelter we have,

the good food we eat and fresh water to drink. He gives us soft and

comfortable blankets to keep us warm in the night. He gives us

clothes to wear and shoes to protect our feet from anything sharp on

the ground.

“God also shows he loves us is by forgiving us for what we have

done wrong. He also protects us from evil. God also listens to us. He

listens to our prayers and what we need to say to him.

“One of the amazing things about God is that he created us and he

created everything on this Earth for us to enjoy and everything that

we need. One of the biggest blessings God has ever given us is life!

God’s love is bigger than the world, the ocean, the tallest mountains

and outer space all put together. He loves every person on Earth so

much that you can’t even imagine how much. God’s love is one of the

best things of all, and God’s love will never stop. By Francesca

Trane.”

Thank you, Francesca, for the reminder of the many ways God loves

us, and that we can’t fully imagine just how much he does. Thank you,

God, for your unconditional love, for children and for the amount of

love that comes through hugs.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at

cindy@onthegrow.com or through the mail at 537 Newport Center Drive,

Box 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.