The Sweetness of Little Minds

There is hardly anything so precious as a newborn baby. How sweet it is when these delightful souls grow and grow and grow a little more, even to be able to communicate their thoughts and intentions with us. We no longer have to wonder what they might need. A verbal exchange is shared, and a lovely conversation is sparked... farm animals, princesses, ladybugs, and bumblebees. How beautiful is the mind of a little one.

And how sweet they are, how especially precious, so undeniably innocent even before they reach that stage of verbal proficiency. Sometimes, though I must admit, not enough, I try to think about what our little ones might be thinking. This evening, as I was so thankful to be sharing a few moments with our 7-month-old as I tended to things in the kitchen, I was imagining what might be passing through her mind. We have delighted in the moments when she has begun to use a new word, but her smiles and outstretched arms and cries for Mommy are still her primary mode of communication. She is so wonderfully, so beautifully, so extraordinarily precious.

So tonight, I wondered, as I continued to talk with her, what was she thinking about? As she examined the toy turtle in her sweet little hands, I began to share the story of the tortoise and the hare. Initially, I was thinking of her budding language skills, but then I was reminded of her. Just her. Without the hopes and dreams surrounding language and grammar, math and literacy. Instead, I imagined what she was thinking as she listened to her mommy talk with her. I'm quite certain that her thoughts were not really on whether the tortoise or the hare won the race. Instead, she might have been thinking of how happy she was to just be near Mommy, to hear her voice, to know that she was explaining something to her.

What a blessing it is that God has entrusted us with these little ones. I hope that in this journey of home education, and perhaps even greater, in this journey of motherhood, that I will remember that the academics are secondary. The time spent together pursuing these educational goals is far more important than the education itself. And in the end, we want to train these little souls to serve their Father in heaven and their Lord Jesus Christ. May I always consider the hearts of these little ones and the thoughts that travel through their minds.