Just a little girl...
Isnt that tale of our hearts? Perhaps we are too sophisticated to argue outwardly over who among us is the greatest but we sure do make that argument interiorly!
How many of us have thought, "why is she in charge? I am far more talented", "why is that person always promoted and recognized?", "I am way too good for this kind of work, I need to be doing something more admirable", "I am holier than that person, I go to daily Mass and pray often" etc. and ON and ON it goes!
Ah, how little we really see.
And I can almost picture that scene of Jesus and His disciples. I can see them arguing, completely oblivious to Jesus being present and probably other people too, and I can see Jesus just quietly reaching out to one of the innocent children who is sitting there in tranquility. I can see Jesus welcoming this little one into His arms and then the disciples slowly noticing what is going on and then quieting down to hear what Jesus is about to say. And then they learn the true meaning of service and humility- living in the truth.
So the priest this morning was relating a story of how we as adults are always in such a hurry to tell everyone how important we are and all the titles we hold. We are in a rush to prove ourselves and make others think well of us.
The story goes that one day, a priest was on his way to bring Holy Communion to several sick people in their homes in an unfamiliar neighborhood. The priest traversed the neighborhood on foot for quite some time and he noticed a small child attentively watching him as he went about his business.
After some time, the priest passed close to the child, who called out to the priest, "Who are you?"
The priest replied, "I am Fr. Fred. I am the Pastor at St. Mary's and I am doing a favor for a friend who could not do his regular work. And who are you?"
The little child replied, "I'm just a little boy."
I loved that. I am just a little boy. I am just a little girl.
So simple. So true. We are just little children in the heart of God our Father who delights in us. With God, we do not have to prove ourselves or try to impress Him. Just our being delights Him. He delights to see us explore the world and His creation. It gives Him joy to see us love, live and bloom.
And as a beloved of His, our presence is deeply missed when we turn away from Him.
Have you ever had a friend or a loved one that you ardently desired to hear from or to see? Perhaps that person has been absent for a while or perhaps you have had a disagreement with that person and you are desirous to see them again or hear how they are. And it seems that many other people can contact you or be in your life but you feel the deep pain of the absence of that one particular person, no one can replace that person--
That is how Jesus yearns and thirsts for us. We are not interchangeable or replaceable. We are sorely missed in the heart of God when we turn away from Him. He notices and longs for us to return. Ah, I can only imagine what that must be like with the heart of God- a heart that is fully open to love and suffering. He thirsts- for us, for our love.
Imagine- the King of Kings, the Creator of the Universe, thirsts for our love. wow.
so...who are you?
I am just a little girl.
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