The heart of a child.

i was inspired, proud, and absolutely in awe of a situation i witnessed recently. my four year old and i were at the park together and along came a crowd of children. giddy with excitement, he immediately approached them without a care – “hi, i’m four. that’s my little brother, that’s my mom. i have a dog. i love star wars. i have lots of hair. wanna play?” his little head held high, smile stretching across his face. my breath caught in my throat, would they play with him, or run off together leaving him heartbroken?

they indeed began an endless game of tag, and i sat back in amazement… why is it that my innocent four year old can approach a crowd with confidence, yet i cower away from a group of women who intimidate me? the beautiful nature in which he did it made me wonder at what point do we as grown women become tarnished?

at a mops meeting recently, we had an amazing speaker who really got down to the nitty gritty of motherhood. she noted that one of the big challenges is dealing with the changes that take place within us, both physically and emotionally. we feel so much pressure from society and (sadly) sometimes from other moms to be this way with our kids, to join that committee, to volunteer for that.

when you see other women chatting at the school or at the office, do you find yourself feeling intimidated? do you question your next step? do you begin to feel less than adequate? i know i have felt all of these things at one time or another, in fact, more often than not.

one thing that being apart of mops has taught me is, that life shouldn’t be this way! we shouldn’t feel like the third wheel, or that we are less than the mom who drives the nicer suv and carries the designer bag. we’re all made equally, and are fearfully and wonderfully made! we have a common bond, whether it be our children, our careers, or our creative outlets. chances are the woman next to you at the doctor’s office is feeling just as insecure as you are.

how can we work through this fear, and have the heart of a child?

• turn to the woman in the waiting area and smile! more than likely she will smile back leaving you both feeling a burst of confidence.
• find a common bond. it could be that both of your children are enjoying the slide, or that each of them is sporting a pink tutu. perhaps the woman in the lunch room at the office has the same book you have been dying to get your hands on. initial the conversation!
• take notes from your kids. just as my little guy burst onto the scene with wide eyed wonder, why not walk up to a crowd and introduce yourself? you will seem confident, and immediately give off the impression that you are friendly and outgoing.
• remember grace. a friend recently enlightened me with some fabulous words on this, “grace meets us where we are at, not where we will be when the diet is over, or when the parenting class ends, or when the women’s bible study comes to a close and we have become the Proverbs 31 woman…Grace is a gift for us in our present state.”

these are definitely things i intend to work on in my own life. i’d love to hear how you have handled a sometimes scary situation? how have you learned to have the heart of a child?