Lessons From Babies
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While living in South Korea as a missionary for almost thirteen years, I was blessed to have three grandchildren. For the first time, I experienced what my mom said was one of two pleasures she received in her later years—serving the Lord and the joy of being a grandmother. One day I was keeping my little Jo’Elle, who was less than two years old at the time. She was bilingual and spoke English and Korean. She decided to wear my toaster cover on her head, thinking it was a hat; she called it a hat in Korean. It was so cute and funny, and I told her mom, my daughter, all about it. We had a good laugh over it, and then my daughter explained to me it was not a toaster cover. Now it was my turn to be shocked. I had purchased it, thinking what a great job I had done, coordinating everything in my kitchen with the exact fabric and print. Me’Chelle said, “Mom, that is a tissue-box covering.” Then we both had another laugh. It was my turn to have made a mistake. It had started with a baby thinking she was wearing a hat, then to me thinking I had bought a toaster cover, only to be corrected and told I had bought a tissue-box cover. Isn’t it funny how God uses a child to teach us lessons in life? I am reminded of the many stories in the Bible about a child who was given responsibility at a young age.
For instance, Josiah became king at eight years old and was responsible for leading an entire nation. For thirty-one years, he did his best to lead his people back to God. The Bible records that he did what was right in the Lord’s eyes and walked in the ways of his ancestor David, not deviating from it even a bit to the right or left.
The story is found in 2 Chronicles 34. Long before Josiah, Solomon wrote that “even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right” (Proverbs 20:11, KJV). Yes, even children can teach us important lessons in life.
Let us remember we can all learn and gain wisdom by listening—sometimes, even from the mouths of babes.
Bessie Russell Haynes
