The Art and Understanding of a Child

Erin is my "artsy" child. She is always drawing, coloring, cutting, painting, taping ... creating! So on Sunday, as we are eating lunch with friends, I wasn't surprised that Erin was drawing on the back of kid's menu. What did surprise me was the explanation of her picture.

As I was visiting with the adults, Erin asked me what I thought of her picture. I told her it was beautiful. Admittedly, that is a standard answer when she shows me her art work. Then she asked me if I knew who it was. Looking at the hair on each figure, I asked if it was me and her. She rolled her eyes and said no... then gave me this explanation...

She pointed to the figure on the left and told me that was Daniel. She then pointed to his hair, and said that in heaven Daniel has LOTS of hair. The figure on the right is God, and the ball at the bottom is the earth. She said that they are in heaven, and God is showing Daniel what a good job he did while on earth.

I sat there amazed at the understanding of my 6 year old. For those of you that don't know, our nephew Daniel died a few weeks ago. He was 30 years old, and had battled cancer for over 4 years. He was indeed an amazing young man, and touched the lives of many individuals. We have spoke with Erin concerning Daniel, but honestly we have never gone into many details with her. Just the basics that we thought she could comprehend. Obviously, she discerns much more than we have given her credit for.

As I think of her drawing, and her explanation, two verses come to mind. I want to share them with you ...

But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” Matthew 19:14

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! from Matthew 25

I pray that my children, and myself always demonstate such faith. And I truly believe that Daniel has heard the words, "Well done."