Letters to God; 
Reminders to Adults

Kids ask the questions we usually keep inside. And pray the most honest prayers.

Dear God;

I am 11. I heard at school that I will be going through a whole heap of change soon. All I ask is this. Please give me an advance warning.

                    Sheila (age 11)

To Whatever rules us,

I'm not sure if I believe in you at all, but in case I do, such as when I'm old, I figured I'd write you just the same. 

                Marty (age 9)

Big G,

Hi out there! I got only 1 request. MORE RIGHTS FOR 9 year olds. I am sick of hearing about wait till you're ten. 

            George (age 9)

Some pictures of Jesus with children are so romanticized that children look like innocent cherubs. Anyone who has been around children, let alone raised one or two, knows that isn't accurate. (Case in point: As I write this article, outside my office door a homeschooling group is using the church. To put it in theological terms, all hell is breaking loose! One cherub has pulled the fire alarm; another has flushed a plugged toilet. It's 'Lord of the Flies' out there and I'm not leaving my office without reinforcements or snacks.)

Real or Fake?

Dear God;

Do fake flowers make you mad? I would be mad if I made the real ones.

            Jake ( age 7)

I have a sneaking suspicion that God doesn't like it when we are fake. For the One who made us real, it must be infinitely frustrating when we pretend. When we pretend about how we are doing; pretend in matters of love, identity or hurt; or pretend in our worship of the Creator.

Kids are hopeful to me because they pretend less and are real more. Especially when they are very young--I don't get the feeling that infants pretend about anything.

The Infant's Wisdom

In an essay written about a hospital maternity ward, Annie Dillard quotes E.M Forster: "We move between two darknesses. The two entities who might enlighten us, the baby and the corpse, cannot do so." Later she herself adds, "They do not speak, as trees do not speak. They do seem wise, as though they understood that their new world, however strange, was only another shade in a streaming marvel they had known from the beginning." ("Acts of God", Northeast Magazine)

What is the wisdom of the infant? If they could speak, what would they say? Because they have just come from it, I wonder if babies would speak of the womb-like love of God. (Isaiah 46:3-4) Because they have just been born, perhaps they remember somewhere in their young bones that they can trust their Origins. That whatever life outside the womb will bring, there will be a day when they will return to a place of safety and nurturance. This life is 'only another shade in a streaming marvel they had known from the beginning.' Some day, all will again be well.

Very Good!

If I knew that--I mean really knew it--maybe I would live my life less fearfully. If I had that wisdom in my bones, maybe I would be more able to cry when I was sad, rage when I was angry, laugh more often, and generally live a life of greater integrity between what is inside and what I offer to the world.

I might start more days like this:

Dear god;

Good morning Heaven! How are you today? I am fine. The sun is shining and people are doing fun things. Very good!

            Love, Molly (age 6)

(All letters from More Children's Letters to God, by David Heller)

Questions

1. What is the impact of children on your life?
2. In what ways would you like to become more child-like?