“everyone is my friend, but i don’t know all of their names”
Posted by Cameron on December 31, 2006
that is what my boy caleb said this afternoon as we were driving to union station to have a ‘man day.’ my wife and i will each take him out periodically to hang out and have fun with just mommy or daddy. before we went to union station we stopped by my in-laws house and saw their new kitty. he loves the kitty. eventually we will get him one, but since we are so busy with the move we want to make it special.
to be honest he only said that everyone is his friend after declaring the kitty to be his ‘best friend.’ so, if you were hoping for #1 friend, then you will be disappointed, but either way, i love my son’s honesty and innocence. he naturally trusts that people are good. (apparently people come right behing kittys) we all know that, infortunately, life does not bear this innocence out. but, doesn’t trusting people sort of create a self-fulfilling prophecy? i mean, if we expect people to be nice, fun, worthy of trust then usually they will live up to our expectations. caleb knows not to go anywhere with strangers and all the safety stuff, but i hope that his common sense about people possibly doing bad things will never translate into a life lived without trust.
if you think about it, the greatest joys in life come through relationships with people. and if we never trust enough to go deep with other people then we miss out on so much of life. this is part of the reason that parents have such an impact in children’s lives even after the child has long since grown up and moved out. to the child who grew up not being able to count on the ones he or she needs to trust the most there is a fear, an anxiety that is created. thankfully, we have a God that is always faithful. but i have met many people, including myself, who have had to overcome issues of trust in order to experience the fullness of relationships.
i am thankful of my son’s trust. my desire is to bring him up with the wisdom he needs, along with the trust he needs to experience all that God has given for him in life.
diana said
this is such a cool post. it must be so awesome to be in the innocent, trusting age that caleb is in. happy new year
diana
glandheim said
It is both amazing and wonderful the qualities young children have. Trust, love, curiosity, and an intelligence that comes from seeing things for the first time, all the time, without preconception.
I’ve never been able to figure out how I can talk to a four or five year old about the most complicated things and they understand them, but if I try to say the same thing to an adult their brain locks up because they know they can’t understand it.
Children are marvels.
Sarah B said
Cam, thanks for sharing your family’s wisdom with us. It’s great to hear from both father and son on the importance of building relationships and experiencing God’s kingdom with one another.
Better luck at the poker table next time…Sarah Burton
Sharla said
Oh, and you too Sarah……ha : )
Shar