Being With Children

Regular readers may remember that last fall, a year ago, Jana and I were helping with after-school childcare at Abilene Christian School. As a wrote about then, that season being with children was very spiritually formative for me.

Yesterday, I was reminded of the impact of those months visiting with the mother of one of the children. She expressed gratitude to me, reminding me that I had taught her son how to play checkers.

I shared how grateful I was to spend time with her son, and all the kids. As I shared last year, being with children teaches you how to be a human being. All children want are presence and attention. And giving those two gifts, presence and attention, trains you in how to be a good spouse, parent, and friend.

Presence and attention are the language of love. And being with children teaches you that.