Faith like a child...

So my boss told me to go home early today; who's boss tells them that on a beautiful Friday afternoon? Honestly. But as I thought about it, I realized I didn't have enough time to really go do anything before I have to be at my other job, and in looking through some of our pictures from Belize this summer, I realize there are still many stories that need sharing. And since I don't have 18 straight hours to sit and talk with most of you, I'll tell you some of these neat moments in a few installments.


This first one is about this little guy. As you can see, he's covered in varying shades of magic marker. I am distressed to admit that I have already fogotten his name; I know I hung around with a Mikey that week (another one in addition to the one I'm married to) so we'll call this guy Mikey, and if any of you from the Asbury trip happen to remember this guy's name, I'd love to know it. This little man is from Valley Community, a little village about a 45 minute drive up the Hummingbird Highway from Dangriga. He's about three, and in the first moments I hung out with him, he clung tightly to his older sister, but I could tell she was looking for someone to watch him so that she could delve into the various VBS delights that were happening around us. She happened to catch my eye and took that as an invitation to leave him with me. No problem, who can resist such a face?

Mikey's a little young to be working on the "stained glass" butterfly that his sister was working on, sticking all colors of tissue paper to a cut-out butterfly shape covered in transparent contact paper, so we found him some paper and a few markers, and he went to town. We soon discovered that the beloved overhead fans were causing a bit of a problem with all the wispy pieces of tissue paper, so they were shut off. The heat wasn't horrible that day, but the bugs, with no breeze to blow them away, started to find us. In the Valley, there are these horrible bugs, only about the size of gnats, that they call sand flies; one Belizean informed me that these tiny monsters don't actually bite, they just rip chunks of flesh from you, leaving a little spot of blood trickling down your leg, and then about 12 hours later, the most irritatingly itchy welt I've ever experienced.


These horrible insects started going after Mikey shortly after the fans were turned off. This great kid, so focused on his scribbles, merely wiped them away, concentrating on the piece of paper in front of him. As he selected colors from me, ripping the tops off the markers, handing the tops back to me, doodling away, then taking the tops back, pushing these caps into place, returning the marker, and starting the process over again, he missed caps, smearing ink all over his hands. In addition, as he wiped the flies away, sometimes he would still have an uncovered marker in his hand, or even if he didn't, the ink from his covered hands transferred to various areas on his ears, face, neck, and head. By the end of craft time, he was covered in all colors, and I loved him all the more for it. He'd look up at me asking with his eyes what I thought of the colors on his masterpiece, and trying so hard not to giggle at the ink smeared across his eyelids, I'd encourage him to keep coloring, that it only got better and better as he continued to color. That I loved the meaningless scribbles, that he was great and an extremely talented artist.

As I thought about Mikey the rest of that day, I had a revelation. A child-like faith... Mikey was so focused on that paper in front of him and my approval, that he noticed not the bugs, the lack of moving air, or the ink covering his face. ...Maybe this is what Jesus meant by having a child-like faith, faith like a child, to be so innocently focused on the Father and His will, that we would notice nothing else but the tasks He places before us and His approval. I want to be like Mikey, covered in the colors of this world, maybe with a few bites along the way, but working ever so diligently after the desires of my Savior's heart, seeking only His love and affection