Tender mercies in the form of children

So at work for the past few days I have had the opportunity to see several amazing children. They [the children] ended up being amazing tender mercies in my life! There was one little girl named Eliza (five years old) that I met while I was out cleaning the dining room. As I was wiping off a table little Eliza said to me "I like your shirt." (Side note: the shirt I was wearing was a shake covered, maroon polo . . . so somebody saying they liked my shirt was quite out of the ordinary) I did a double take and commented on how beautiful her shirt was and how it made her eyes "pop". She smiled and went back to playing with the train.

Several minutes later, as Eliza was eating ice cream with her mom, I heard he yell to me "Kia has a boyfriend!" Her mom and I laughed as I had a very engaging conversation about how Kia (also five) had a boyfriend and Eliza didn't. Eliza's mom commented that Eliza wouldn't be having a boyfriend until she was thirty and out of college. I chuckled and told her that she would be older than me before she had a boyfriend. Eliza, with her big blue eyes, sincerely said to me "You should have a boyfriend." I felt bad because I started to laugh but she was being completely serious. Before she left, she made sure to say good-bye to me; it was one of the sweetest experiences I'd ever had at work.

Another experience that same day occurred earlier in the day. It was when we had first opened and so the train that runs up above the dining room wasn't going. A little boy came over and told me it wasn't on; I went over and flipped the switch but it still didn't go. He seemed incredibly vexed, so I went and asked Jan (one of the managers) if she could fix it. When she did, and the train started to move, I heard the highest pitched squeal I had ever heard! It wasn't from the little boy that had come up to talk to me, it was from his little brother. Every time the train came around you could hear his excited scream, it was quite cute!

The rest of the day I saw several little children come in, some were very out-going and loved to talk and tell me about themselves, others were very shy and would hide behind their parents and peek out occasionally. I also love seeing little babies come in. There are times when, while the parents and the rest of the family is trying to decide what to get, I get to play little games with them and I try to make them smile. That has to be my favorite part of my job, seeing children filled with joy and spending time with their families.

Here is a quote that my Mom told me about after I told her about those experiences. It says: "A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." Carl Sandburg
I love that perspective, and how that portrays how important we are to God. Our importance doesn't diminish with age or even with wear and tear. If a baby carries that message from God and that importance then we still carry that the older we get. We are important and we are ALL children of God.