I’m reading a pretty good book right now by Mike Mason called The Mystery of Children, What Our Kids Teach Us About Childlike Faith. He has a passage about children and stories that really struck me:
Children and stories are inseparable because children live stories. Adults tend to live in their heads, relentlessly analyzing. But children experience life directly. To children, life is a story in which they are the main character.
Adults, not content to simply be characters, want to be the author of their story. Being part of a story means surrendering control, but we like to think we can control our world, or at least a good chunk of it.
Maybe that’s why it’s so easy for us grown-ups to find life so stressful and difficult at times. Maybe we need to do a better job of living our story.
[tags]The Mystery of Children, Mike Mason, stories, childlike faith[/tags]
Jason, I’ve finally found this book and am reading it! It’s absolutely, wonderfully magic. (“It’s magically delicious!”)
I took note of and transcribed this passage too, for it’s simple beauty and truth. That there was no theology in Jesus’ time – only stories, simple experiential stories – is just another assuring reminder that truly, we need to become like little children in our faith. Instead of analyzing theology and trying to make sense of the stories of God, why not simply let us just try to live them moment by moment, as children live?
Why not, indeed? Glad to hear you’re enjoying the book!