God Heals With Children

I sit on a small bench in the middle of a field
Reading solitary in the stillness of the morning
Tall grass and wild flowers reach toward the sun

A handful of small boys run across the upper part of my vision
Hands flown upward like the wings of geese
Little throats garbled in the mimicking of airplanes

A mother and her young children sit on the bench across me
The older boy runs and hides in the grass
Peeking at the rest of us from various angles
The little girl lollers around on her seat
The youngest boy wanders, making innocent mischief
Tumbling to and fro, large eyes drinking the surroundings on his excursion

I watch without comment or word
A small girl throws flower petals into the air
Trying to catch them again as they fall

None of them care about little daily worries
None of them hold onto yesterday and wait to grab onto tomorrow
No hate is strong enough to last, no love is small enough to ignore

A father paces along holding his infant daughter in his arms
Her large eyes beginning to dry of tears
I give her a smile and wave

The young boy who keeps wandering from his mother approaches
His curious eyes balance his head to the left thoughtfully
He sheepishly waves and smiles in embarrassment before running back
I peek at my book again, but only for a moment
He returns to step a little closer
Waves, giggles with chagrin, and then runs to his mother

Soft hymns fill my ears as I straighten up
Peace and warmth growing in my chest
And my smile gazes on each precious child

The boy comes toward me once more
Slowly entering further into unknown space between me and his mother
At last he blushes and waves before making a final sprint home

The infant girl in the man's arms gives a sigh
Her eyes pools of wonder
A soft sound slipping from her throat

None of the children touch me
But I can only be touched by them
Sweeter than the sunny rays falling upon me

On a lovely morning once reigned in gloom
I had come to ponder alone
But He sent forth his children to play

Like a child, the joy filled my heart
And with a child, I rose
As a child, I am loved
Like a child, I had cried
And with a child, He worked
As a child, I healed