Lessons with Children ~ A Surprising Return to Joy

          Yesterday morning, while I was on a bathroom break, my little friend had managed to very covertly sneak into my home-office and hide himself in the shadows behind my 2-drawer file cabinet. With only a small lamp lighting up my desk, the room was fairly dark, and his five-year-old little heart must have been thrilled with the opportunity that had been presented to him.

          When I came back into the room and settled into my chair for some more computer-work, the little guy very quietly stood up from his hiding place, and softly said, “boo!”

          From my perspective, I only knew that my heart immediately jumped like it had just seen  a fearsome tiger. Before I knew what was happening, it had pushed my startled feelings up through my throat with a vehement, “Don’t do that!”

          As soon as I saw the look of balloon-bursting shock on his face, I immediately felt my own surge of remorse for my involuntary reaction to his ploy. Although I can’t say it was a conscious thought, something happened inside me that was an expression of, “I don’t want a home where little kids are afraid to ‘get’ the big kids in their world.”

          With a sudden change of heart, perhaps because my heart had returned to its proper place in my chest, I congratulated the young man on his exceptional victory in “getting me”. I put into practice things I have recently learned about returning children to joy, and expressed my admiration for how well he had pulled off this coup of my heart.

          The positive of this whole thing is that the working through of my impulsive, terror-based reaction strengthened the love-bond between an adult and a child. It took away the potential threat of unresolved hurts taking root in the hidden places of the heart to put out their weedy-seeds for years to come. It ended well.

          The negative of the situation is that my home is simply not safe. If ever there was a Calvin and a Hobbes in one child, this one is it (although I am sure many others feel they know such a child as well). I now find myself walking quietly through the hallway between my office and the bathroom, hoping to hear any prewarning of a little soldier seeking to one-up his last victory of surprise (or terror). I know he will get me again.

          I also know that I cannot do the same to him because fear does something to his heart that it does not do to mine. However, I know that love will grow because there is a Father up above who is looking down in love, and that perfect love will drive all forms of fear out of us both.

© 2014 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com