Cutie patootie
I just watched THE most precious video that featured a 6-year-old orphan boy. This kid had every reason to be angry at the world. Thankfully, he had an aunt that was caring for him, but he lost his father when he was 4 and his mother died unexpectedly last month. He could have sunk into a depression, living in the reality that life is so very precious and fleeting. It certainly must feel as if a capricious god is controlling everything. He even said in his cute little accent, “Anybody can die! Anybody.”
But instead of sitting in the dark places where our mind can linger, he chose to be happy and joyful. And unbelievably, he even went beyond that. He looked around and noticed that all the people around him seemed to be so sad. So he cooked up a plan to fix it, and he asked his aunt to help him out by buying little toys to give to people. His vision was to make people smile. As you can imagine, he has been very successful.
Open hands
When I heard that story, I was so encouraged and convicted by this little guy’s determination to bless people. This is an incredible example of how the image of God can be seen in each and every person. It doesn’t matter whether they acknowledge Him or not. God’s fingerprints are everywhere and He will get the glory at one point or another.
This child also reminded me that being open-handed with the gifts God gives us is incredibly important. I first heard of that concept from a super flowery book called 1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp. To be honest, it was slightly painful for me to read. If I may use a real-life analogy, it kind of reads similarly to when you walk into one of those candle and soap shops that exude powerful, flowery scents. It smells amazing, but geeze louise, someone help get me out of there! But since the first chapter was so objectively good, I wanted to continue reading it.
I read the book several years ago, but the one thing that stuck out to me was the concept of being open-handed. Meaning, the gifts that God gives us we should readily accept but not desperately hang onto. That essentially means being thankful for what we’ve been given. But if the gift has an expiration date (which most do), we need to trust the LORD and willingly release the gift back to the One Who gave it to us in the first place. And that applies whether or not we want to give it up, whether or not we understand.
Everything is crazy
It’s so easy to get caught up with the present. We want everything to go back to normal, whatever that means. I can’t even remember what normal was anymore. But at this point, there’s just no going back. We will never live in a world that’s pre-March, 2020. Too much has happened. So much has been revealed about all of us.
Most of us have lost something since the beginning of all of this, whether that’s a friend, family member, or a job. Others have lost a prom, or time with friends, or their innocence to the fact that this world can be dangerous and dark.
But isn’t it God’s grace to allow a young orphan boy to show us the silver lining in the dark clouds that continue to hang over us? This is a kid that has lost too much too early, but continues to smile and asks others to smile with him. What an example of a beautiful, content heart who has open hands to the gifts he’s been given. Even when the most foundational gifts he was given, his parents, have both been taken from him.
Reality check
Now here’s my reality check – I hate super sticky sweet Christianity. It’s about an inch deep and a mile wide. That kind of faith will not get you far. There are silver linings everywhere by the grace of God, but there is also the stark reality of the darkness that can be seen encroaching on the horizon. We need to have these bursts of sweetness every once in a while to buoy our walk with Christ. The surrendered life is difficult to live. There are many tough things we face every day. If it’s not riots, it’s a beautiful 7 year old getting killed in a drive-thru, or justice being ignored for some.
Life isn’t fair
LORD, life is not fair. But the thing is, the LORD never promised us a fair life. He promised He would never leave us or forsake us, always. God is good, and we can trust Him even when we don’t feel like trusting Him. He doesn’t have to give us silver linings – we are sinful people who live in a sinful world. But because the LORD is gracious and merciful and loves us, He is always ready to extend hope to us.
So yeah, life isn’t fair. This young 6-year-old boy’s life has not been fair. But even he sees that God is good. He may not say that verbally or even acknowledge it in his heart, but he has eyes. He knows. And he instinctively is doing what we were made to do – glorify God. He is thankful for what he’s been given. And he wants others to lift their faces and see there’s always something to be joyful about. And that includes a small, cheap, plastic toy from a 6-year-old orphan.
I pray that we all can have this child’s open hands, even in the little things. God is good. All the time. And all the time. God is good.
