Children — one of my portals

Mountains. Music. Waves. Whales. Rivers. Roses. 

What type of beauty brings you immediately to the brink of the amazing love of our Creator? 

While there are endless entry points into this infinite grace of God, one of my portals is children. My life work was all about caring for 

Yvette Wyatt

and teaching children and supporting their families. In my retirement, my self-introductory line is, “My name is Yvette Wyatt, and my claim to fame is being the Oma of the Thompson children!”. So today I am going to share a couple of recent child-created joys — two separate strands, tying together, within my Christ tapestry. 

Strand 1: How you do anything is how you do everything
Children can teach us how to love anything via the ‘Great Chain of Being’ when we pay them close attention. First, to provide the backdrop for the delightful child example I will share, this excerpt from page 73 in Every Thing is Sacred: 40 Practices and Reflections on the Universal Christ by Richard Rohr and Patrick Roland:
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​“To work up to loving God, start by loving the humblest and simplest things. Don’t start by trying to love God, or even people; love rocks and elements first, move to trees, then animals, and then humans. It might be the only way to love, because how you do anything is how you do everything.” (page 57)
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​So, the child story. Following a visit from a family friend whose girls also call me Oma, I received this touching text:
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“Thanks again for having us yesterday and watching the girls. Also, thanks for sharing your rocks. Ruby played with hers for at least a half hour after we got home. She put it in a bowl of water, washed it, fed it play food, and gave it water to drink. The pebble has since found a sleeping location in one of the plant pots and is checked on regularly.”
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​To give this story a bit more perspective it’s important to know about the rock. This was not a big rock from my lifelong large rock collection. Nor was it a smooth beauty from my river stone bowl. It was a pea gravel pebble. As they departed the house, Ruby bent down, picked up a tiny pea stone from the path, and proclaimed, “Oma, I’m taking this one home. This one is mine.” I was surprised to see it wasn’t one of the added ‘color’ rocks I toss in for fun. Just a pea stone that she took home to care for and love. 

Strand 2: We share the responsibility to show the love of Jesus Christ
This past Sunday, I was privileged to be a co-teacher for the Pre-K and Kindergarten Sunday School class. Paul White, a newly installed Elder and the fortunate father of Conor and Alex, was the other. Our lesson was on Mary Magdalene at the tomb. We focused on how she couldn’t ‘see’ Christ until He called her by name. Then, for our prayer time, we asked the children to think of a friend or family member that helps them to see and understand the love of Jesus. 

A couple children shared the names of multiple friends- it was hard to choose one! Two of the girls each named the other—see how amazing they are! When it was Charlotte’s turn, my generous granddaughter replied, “You Oma.” Can you not just imagine how my heart exploded with joy? Then it was my grandson Theo’s turn. Not to fear, for every nanosecond of pride I entertain, our wise Father counters with many hours of humility. Theo’s loyal and ever-steady reply to such questions frequently results in the proclamation of “Mickey!” And so it was that day. Yes, his faithful and adventure-sharing buddy, Mickey Mouse, helps him see the love of Jesus.

Later, pondering Char’s sweet reply, the same heart that burst in gratitude, did a shuddering stop. The full weight and responsibility of her naming me as one of those who shows and shares the love of Jesus is not just sweet. It is profound and sobering. Thank goodness I am surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. A faith family who is encouraging, uplifting, and amazing examples of the love of Jesus Christ. AKA, Love 1st.

​In His Name, Yvette