Child-Like Attitude

Do you ever have one of "those" days when your attitude pretty much stinks from the time you get out of bed until the time you lay back down? You know the ones I'm talking about...maybe the toilet overflows all over the floor when you first get up and then while you get that cleaned up the dog vomits all over the living room rug. Then you finally get it all cleaned up and head to work but you have a wreck on the way and the boss is ticked because you are late. You are already grumpy so when your spouse calls to see how your day is going you end up picking a fight. The microwave quits on you as you try to heat up the leftovers for dinner, and you just learned that your mother-in-law is coming to town for a visit.

Alright, so you've probably never had a day quite like that...and neither have I. But sometimes it can feel that bad, and it's really easy for the mood to sour and dark clouds to appear everywhere. The more we try, the worse it gets too. Before you know it, you probably aren't even really remembering that there IS a God let alone remembering to ask for help. I know I'm certainly guilty of that at times.

So, how do we break that cycle and get ourselves back in tune with The Creator? How do we go about making sense of the senseless and put a silver lining in those 'ol dark clouds? Maybe we need to reconnect with the child-like attitude that we were born with...the one the world is really good at melting away.

A child isn't usually afraid to ask for help. Sure, there is a certain amount of independence that they'll strive for but anytime something that seems too big or daunting for them comes along, what do they do? They go find Mom and Dad and ask for help. I think we could all spend a little more time being like that. Look at what Jesus said about asking for help:

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. -- Luke 11:9-10

When a child asks for something, they don't spend a lot of time trying to use fancy words or making long-winded speeches, either. They come to you sincerely and ask you for whatever it is they are after. Not shyly at all, but with confidence. Check out one more verse where a blind beggar does just that:

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied. Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." -- Luke 18:40-42

Jesus told him that his faith is what healed him. The man wasn't shy at all about taking his shot and asking for the thing he desired. Don't be afraid to ask!

Now, what I find interesting is to ponder what would have happened if Jesus had told this man no. Likely he would have wanted to know why, and he might have gotten upset...or he might have accepted it as God's will that he remain blind. I suspect that, if Jesus had told him no, He would also have told the man how he could better serve God without his sight.

Understand that we aren't always going to get the answer we are looking for to our prayers. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't ask and that we shouldn't realize that just because an outcome isn't what we wanted doesn't mean that our prayer wasn't answered just the same.