Headlines & Lullabies

Jesus . . . said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” . . . And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

—Mark 10:14, 16

When it seems like there’s more bad news than good, I gather the people I love around me. Sometimes what it takes for me to really regain a sense of God’s hand and presence is to stop the dozens of things I’m doing all at the same time and connect with my son. Everything stops in those moments when I finally stop trying to write one more e-mail or put away a few more dishes, and I really see him. I see the way his mind works and the way he sees the world, and I realize, in those moments, that the world he sees is full of beauty and mystery, that it’s waiting to be discovered, new every day.

The headlines don’t have nearly as much to say to me as this little person does. The things that matter most are our sons and daughters and the stories we write with them in our own homes every day. Those stories might not make for salacious headlines, but they do make beautiful lullabies, so sometimes the very best thing to do is to turn off the news and keep writing our own stories and lullabies.