Perspective

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

As we were walking down the rocky driveway, hand in hand, my two-year-old niece released her grip and ran ahead of her four-year-old sister, and myself, eager to get to the bottom of the hill to gather whatever she could find to toss into the creek bed. After stopping to pick up a few nuts that had fallen from one of the trees lining the driveway, we continued our walk down the winding path from the top of the hill where my brother’s house sits, about a quarter of a mile from the road. After meandering for a few minutes, throwing nuts into the water and a few moments spent climbing trees we began to make our ascent back up the hill so we could ready ourselves for company coming to help celebrate their daddy’s birthday. From behind me I hear the two year old, Ellie, yell out to me “Aunt Katie, I picked this black flower for you. Help me find another one for mommy!” Her sister, Laney, and I stop to turn around and see what Ellie has found and that’s when she hands me a dead dandelion. As I held the “flower” in my hand for the remainder of our walk back to the house, the Holy Spirit began to stir in my heart and mind. As we march into the house, Ellie immediately goes on a search to find my sister-in-law to proudly present her with this gift she picked specifically for her. I’m not exactly sure where this “flower” ended up, but I made sure to snap a picture to remember this moment. A moment that spoke to my heart in such a deep and profound way.

Children are such a blessing and gift from God. As we can all attest, the older we get, the more our eyes are opened to the brokenness of the world around us. Because we must learn how to live and survive in a world tainted with so much sin, we slowly lose the perspective that allows one to pick a dead dandelion from the ground and refer to it as a flower, something worthy of presenting to our parental figure as a gift. But isn’t that precisely how God sees each one of us? To the world, a dead dandelion. Judged by poor decisions. Marked by addiction. Struggling under the weight of shame. Paralyzed by fear. The list goes on. But to Jesus, each of us is a beautiful flower worth dying for. The moment He was nailed to the cross He took on the weight of all our human brokenness and declared us His special possession, worthy of presenting to our Father as a gift.

Don’t get me wrong, I know as adults we can’t parade around in the world pretending evil and sin don’t exist, but we can make a conscious decision to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to what the innocent perspectives of our children can teach us in certain moments. And maybe that’s something we all need to do a little more intentionally. I don’t know what you’ve been through in this life, the mistakes you’ve made, the road you’ve traveled, or the suffering you’ve endured. But I do know Jesus and I know that none of it is too much for Him and I’m here to remind you that you are God’s flower. Broken and beautiful. Tainted, but treasured. Hurting, but poised for healing.