A Little Child

"The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them." Isaiah 11:6

During Advent I will preaching from Isaiah. This particular piece of Isaiah is not in this year's lectionary, but I sure did think about it a lot over Thanksgiving week.

My family and I traveled down to Corpus Christi, TX where we spent Thanksgiving with my side of the family. As with all families, there are some really good things about us and some not-so-good things. Families are systems and systems are hard to change (maybe that's enough to say about the characteristics of my family =).

But I knew I would have the hardest time being around my new sister-in-law. I have a hard time relating to her. And so our first night together was awkward (to say the least). We all went out to this fabulous Mexican food restaurant--it is so fabulous that we had to wait to be seated and guess who I got to sit next to?? Of course--my sister-in-law.

I didn't know what to say to her. But as we sat there in silence, my 3 year-old daughter bopped over and crawled right up into my sister-in-law's lap. I watched her as she so easily related...as she so easily smiled...as she so easily shared herself with this person she didn't really know that well either...and I thought of Isaiah.

Isaiah 11:6 has all kinds of unlikely creatures hanging out together, peacefully....all led by a little child. I guess as we get older, life accumulates on us and we just aren't as willing to be so transparent. There is a lot to peel away before I could be as pure and as honest and as open as my little child. But I hope to live out what I say I believe in such fashion...until that day, I suppose a little child will lead me.

Journey On....