By Roy A. Crutcher
Text: Mark 10:13-16 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He 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. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Recently a friend wrote the following statement relative to her five year old little boy: “Cleaning today getting ready for family to come for the holidays I saw a dirty little handprint next to the light switch. I almost wiped it away, but something stopped me quickly. I realized how precious that little handprint is, it shows that my little boy is alive and healthy in this home. I thought how badly I'd miss that little hand if it were suddenly taken from me. Guess what? For this season there's a little handprint stain on my wall. I love it there. My house may not be spic and span but that's because a family lives here and we may be too busy hugging, laughing or sometimes arguing, to always sweep or mop. But on my death bed, I bet I don't say, "man, I should've cleaned more”."
Wow, what a statement of love, and concern, for little children!
We live in an age where we see a lot of unruly children. Sadly, many of them have grown into their teen years and are even more unruly. What’s more, many of them will grow into adulthood with an even more, unruly lifestyle. But, you know what? It doesn’t have to be that way if we give them the proper love and understanding they need when they are young. Proverbs 22:6 tells us that we should train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
If we truly love and nurture our children; if we teach them the ways of the Lord; if we show patience and yet instill discipline, when they are still small, they will, likely, grow up to be individuals that we can be proud of and that will please God.
Anyway, the manner with which my friend handled the “hand smudge” problem, prompted me to take pen in hand and write the following poem:
The Handprint
By Roy Allen Crutcher
Today I found a hand print,
That I started to wipe away,
But something said “don’t do it”
You’ll be happy you didn’t some day.
That dirty little hand print,
Looks so bad there on the wall,
But what if there were no little child,
To put it there, at all!
Children are so precious,
We love them all so much,
So why get upset,
When we see a smudgy touch?
So innocently was it put there,
As they went about their play,
Able to run, and jump and yell,
And all the other stuff they can do today.
Tomorrow holds no promise,
For what a child can do,
Or even if he’ll be here,
This is a fact that’s true.
So cherish the child each day,
Hold them close and hug,
Tell them that you love them,
And cherish that hand print smudge.
Hymn: Jesus loves the little children
Prayer: It is my prayer, this day, that we will encourage parents to be godly parents who will set the proper example, before their children, and continually instruct them in the ways of our Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
- Roy A. Crutcher, Mount Carmel, IL, may be contacted at RACRGC@aol.com.
Text: Mark 10:13-16 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He 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. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Recently a friend wrote the following statement relative to her five year old little boy: “Cleaning today getting ready for family to come for the holidays I saw a dirty little handprint next to the light switch. I almost wiped it away, but something stopped me quickly. I realized how precious that little handprint is, it shows that my little boy is alive and healthy in this home. I thought how badly I'd miss that little hand if it were suddenly taken from me. Guess what? For this season there's a little handprint stain on my wall. I love it there. My house may not be spic and span but that's because a family lives here and we may be too busy hugging, laughing or sometimes arguing, to always sweep or mop. But on my death bed, I bet I don't say, "man, I should've cleaned more”."
Wow, what a statement of love, and concern, for little children!
We live in an age where we see a lot of unruly children. Sadly, many of them have grown into their teen years and are even more unruly. What’s more, many of them will grow into adulthood with an even more, unruly lifestyle. But, you know what? It doesn’t have to be that way if we give them the proper love and understanding they need when they are young. Proverbs 22:6 tells us that we should train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
If we truly love and nurture our children; if we teach them the ways of the Lord; if we show patience and yet instill discipline, when they are still small, they will, likely, grow up to be individuals that we can be proud of and that will please God.
Anyway, the manner with which my friend handled the “hand smudge” problem, prompted me to take pen in hand and write the following poem:
The Handprint
By Roy Allen Crutcher
Today I found a hand print,
That I started to wipe away,
But something said “don’t do it”
You’ll be happy you didn’t some day.
That dirty little hand print,
Looks so bad there on the wall,
But what if there were no little child,
To put it there, at all!
Children are so precious,
We love them all so much,
So why get upset,
When we see a smudgy touch?
So innocently was it put there,
As they went about their play,
Able to run, and jump and yell,
And all the other stuff they can do today.
Tomorrow holds no promise,
For what a child can do,
Or even if he’ll be here,
This is a fact that’s true.
So cherish the child each day,
Hold them close and hug,
Tell them that you love them,
And cherish that hand print smudge.
Hymn: Jesus loves the little children
Prayer: It is my prayer, this day, that we will encourage parents to be godly parents who will set the proper example, before their children, and continually instruct them in the ways of our Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
- Roy A. Crutcher, Mount Carmel, IL, may be contacted at RACRGC@aol.com.
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