I Work With Sinless People

"I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who raises an infant to his cheeks, and I bent down to them and fed them." - Hosea 11:4

Recently I started a new job working with youth who have special needs.  There are those among them who are very young in their mental capacities and don't have a use of reason capable of reflecting sufficiently upon and choosing between morally good and morally bad choices.  In other words

A lot of these kids are functioning on a level below the "age of reason" (typically around seven years old for a fully healthy child) which means these particular individuals aren't capable of commiting personal sin.  

In other words I work with a lot of sinless kids and it is awesome.

They can't displease God with sin because they don't know how to sin.

What a gift!

(Adam and Eve, however, wanted to lose their gift of not knowing how to sin - of not knowing evil - so they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  God wanted to protect them from everything that was not of Him but they said "no" to His gift of innocence.  We say "no" to this innocence every time we choose to know the things God does not will for us - all the idols we love and the sins we commit are our attempts at knowing ungodly things; things not of God.  We don't trust that our Father has given us everything.  We think there is more and so we grasp for more - but in reality we are grasping at nothing; no-thing at all because evil and sin are just an absence of what God intended to be there.)

Do you get ridiculously happy whenever little children are around simply being who they are?

I think that's part of the reason most people are so joyful when little children are around.  Whether they know it or not I think that the innocence of little ones radiates pure joy to those around them.

Is there a more beautiful sound that a cooing baby? Or a laughing toddler?

Maybe the silent enjoyment of those lovely sounds is more beautiful - but just barely.

Which is greater: the wonder of the child or the Delight of the Father?

Maybe that's why a delighted dad can't help but lift his delightful child to His cheeks.  He wants His son or daughter to be with Him in His delight.

I bet that's what Jesus' Ascension into Heaven was like: The Father bending down to raise His dear Son to His cheek.

"I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who raises an infant to his cheeks, and I bent down to them and fed them." - Hosea 11:4

How does the Father want to bend down to feed you today? Perhaps with His love. Maybe all you need right now is just to let Him pick you up and hold you to His cheek.

For He is your Father.  And you are His delight.

If you saw what He saw you'd do as He does

There I was last Sunday taking a picture of a Batman fire hydrant.

That red flower you see atop Batman's nose is indeed a red flower.  Perhaps a carnation.  Who knows these things.

I had asked for a restful Sunday.   I got a Batman fire hydrant.

There I was last Sunday disassembling the bars and poles for a local outside market when our work truck wouldn't start.  We were able to wait - and relax - for two hours or so before being towed back.  (I even found a guy who can potentially do some much needed repairs on my car for a pretty reasonable price!) We sat in the park and chatted on a beautiful afternoon, we walked around the neighborhood, and we even got to walk into a Catholic Church only to find a wedding taking place! 

It was a marriage between two Hispanics and I noted the huge image of Our Lady of Guadalupe (very important for their culture) on the wall overlooking the congregation.  i happened to be wearing a shirt (which I have rarely worn since getting it a couple months ago from a youth event) which sported the same image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  I felt things were as they should be even though our truck was out of commission.  As it turned out we would eventually discover that there was something wrong with the electronic chip in the key - an easy fix - and nothing wrong with the engine.  

I asked God that morning for a restful Sunday.  I got to enjoy the afternoon with my brother in law and see a wedding take place for a few minutes and have some quiet prayer in the back of the Church where no one could see me.  Again, I just felt that things were as they should be.

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I'm reading a book right now which I wholeheartedly recommend called "Into Your hands , Father" by Fr. Wilfrid Stinnisson.  The topic is surrender; abandonment to God's action through Divine Providence.  Its beautifully written with constant penetrating insights.  It was recommended to me by a Priest-hermit and then again I felt encouraged to read it by a cloistered nun while reading her community's blog featuring the book in one of their posts.

All is as it should be.  That's hard to accept sometimes.  It's hard to surrender to a God Who has our best interests at heart and sometimes  (even often times) allows pain and difficult situations in order to bring tremendous good to us and to the world.

After all, though, if you were God you'd have perfect wisdom and love then you'd do exactly what He already is doing.  Babies don't see what Daddy sees but if Baby was Daddy then Baby would understand all of Daddy's ways.

Babies just need to trust that Daddy really does love them.  

He really does love you.