I hope they love...

I was driving home with the kids from the grocery store this afternoon. They were singing, laughing and carrying on in the backseat. We got stopped behind a school bus. As I sat there watching the kids get off and cross the street into the neighborhood. I noticed a little boy. He was small. If I had to guess I’d say he was probably in kindergarten, maybe first grade or small for his age…either way, he was little and young. Walking next to him was a kid just slightly taller. All of a sudden this “slightly” husky kid comes barreling between the two of them, knocking down the smaller boy in all his haste. He just kept walking. He didn’t stop and help him, say he was sorry or acknowledge it in any way. The small boy got up, his friend helped him dust off and they were on their way. I’m not proud, but feelings of anger raced through my body like wild fire and I wanted nothing more than to whip the car into the subdivision and spank that kids fanny. Obviously, that’s not my place and we drove on. As I sat there driving, listening to my joyful children in the backseat I began to think about it. You know, as parents, we fear our children getting picked on or bullied at school. What a nightmare to think of your “little baby” as being the subject of ridicule or hurt. But, in that moment it dawned on me that that wouldn’t be the worst thing. The worst thing would be them being the bully. What if they just didn’t care how they treated people? What if integrity and compassion were qualities that they didn’t possess? What if they didn’t love other people more than themselves? What if they weren’t concerned with how they treated others? THAT would be the worst thing. Obviously, I don’t want my children to ever be hurt by another child…obviously, that will probably never happen. But, what I can pray for and instill in them are characteristics that are like Jesus. They might get picked on, we will teach them to handle it, if they get pushed down we will teach them how to pick themselves back up and dust themselves off, but most importantly I want to raise the kid that helps someone up and not pushes them down. I pray my kids will love above all else. I pray that they will love others like they are called to love no matter the cost. I pray my children will love like the Father and have a heart like His.