"I Love You"

It happened tonight. Bree and I were doing our nightly ritual of snuggling on the couch, and eating Golden Grahams. She happened to notice the print on my shirt, which is a Chick-Fil-A cow with sunglasses and a shopping bag. As she pointed to the things on my shirt, I told her what each thing was. Then, she looked up at me with her big, brown eyes and in the sweetest little voice she said, "I love you."

Tears immediately filled my eyes, and I said, "I love you too" back as I grabbed her up in a hug and kissed her little chunky cheeks. It's not that I didn't know that she loved me, it's just the first time I have actually heard those words come out of her mouth. She isn't quiet two years old yet, but she is beginning to put words together. Needless to say, I was shocked, filled with an overwhelming since of joy, and my heart was immediately warmed. She made me fall in love with her all over again. She let me know that she loved me, and appreciated me in the simplest form. Sometimes, that's all I need, is for someone to look at me and just tell me they love me.

I think that as we get older, our minds get too complex. A child's mind is simple, and I think that's the way God intended our minds to be. Just simple. Instead, we fill it with so much stuff. Worry, stress, confusion, what-ifs, etc... Sometimes I wish that I could be Bree. Just so I don't have to worry about things. She doesn't have a thing in the world to worry about, and that's the way God wanted our lives to be like. She is completely dependent on me to fulfill her needs, and that's good enough for her. So, if that's good enough for a child to trust her mother, why isn't it good enough for us to trust God so that we don't have to worry? What keeps us from saying, "God, I love you and I trust you."? Our flesh? Yes. It's us, the person we became as we grew up. The complex mind we developed over the years. The day we gave away our child like minds, is the day we stopped having faith. What can I do to keep this from happening to Bree? I want her to know, and to understand. I don't want her to ever have to worry about a thing. The day she starts to worry about things, is the day she stops being so happy and carefree. I think that will pain me to see that. It pains me to think about it. Why can't we be children forever?