“Today has been the best day I’ve ever had,” says Paige.
“You say that every time I see you,” I say.
And then it hit me. What she has said is absolutely beautiful actually.
That’s great that at 9 years old she is determined to have her best day everyday. Or that she actually makes me feel like in some way I’m connected to the best days by saying it whenever she is in my presence.
It makes me feel missed. And it’s good to be missed.
Already blessed from her statement, I began to wonder, what does Paige want to be when she grows up?
She said she wanted to start her own nonprofit for kids with cancer when she grows up.
How wonderful is that?
I work for a nonprofit myself, and as much as I enjoy it, I can’t say I had a heart for it a 9. She, at 9, already has a desire to help that is stronger than mine at 24. And it’s not that I want it that way, it’s just that her heart is that big, and that is God-given.
And I can’t help but think that God continues to place children in my path for no other reason than to learn from them. As adults, we so often think that we are here to teach and share, and we are, but sometimes we need to be taught and reminded.
So when Paige says, the three most important things in her life are God, family, and the lives of others, I can’t help but feel schooled by a 9 year old. She’s got it already figured out. And she’s reminding me to keep it figured out now.
She’s gets it. She understands life isn’t the same for everybody. Some people are ill. Some people are poor. Some people need her help. And she wants to give it.
She’s headed in the right direction, and I think it’s best to play a child’s game of follow the leader in this instance.
Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)
6 Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.