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Concerning Kids – Enjoy the moment

25-03-2023

Christian Life

Anna Gnatyshyna, CNE.news

Photo Unsplash

Conversations with kids about the upcoming events are pretty exhausting. Whenever you mention any event (trip to the zoo), the first question is “When?”.

Then, if you have a child younger than 6, you put a lot of effort in explaining the date. But it does not help much. Whenever the child thinks about the event, he or she will ask “When?” time and again.

Children are oriented towards the present. They have the extraordinary capacity to disappear into the moment and enjoy it. Adults are the ones who are the gatekeepers of time. Time matters a lot for us, and we are preoccupied with it. We are constantly watching the clock so that we can race out the door to the next activity or meeting.

My friend’s child Emilia loves to spend time going for a walk with her aunties because they have more time for her. She says: “I want to walk with you because you don’t run like my mom always does when we are late. She is so busy that we cannot stop every time I want to”.

It is very true that we speed through life when we are supposed to take care of children, our house, food, pets, and to keep working. Sometimes, I believe that even if I would have two lives, I would not be able to get done with everything on my to-do list.

Children don’t care about the past and rarely think about the future. Instead, they live in the present. Unlike adults, who often dwell on the past and worry too much about the future. We are always tempted to escape reality in our past of the future. When we dream about being in another place, with other people, we lose the precious moments of the present.

I would like to encourage you, my dear reader, to learn how to live in the present. Our kids are the best teachers when it comes to seizing the moment and enjoying it to the fullest. Certainly, it means re-prioritizing our tasks so that we can have a luxury of pausing.

Enjoy the moment, enjoy it together with children and teach you kids to enjoy it, living in the present. Happiness is not found in the past or in the future, it is built today.

Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet summarized it in a beautiful way:

"What day is it?" It's today," squeaked Piglet. My favorite day," said Pooh." A.A. Milne

Anna Gnatyshyna.jpg
Anna Gnatyshyna. Photo Anna Gnatyshyna

Anna lives in Kyiv and runs evangelistic Children's Club. She is a Children's Ministry Coordinator in Eurasia with the organisation OneHope. Anna studied theology, and she is a guest teacher in Kyiv Theological Seminary.

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