I watched a video of a young toddler being filmed by her mother. The focus was on the child with the voice of the unseen mother mixed in with young sounds. The clip took me back to the days when my children were that age. The mother’s words echoed my own from days which have long passed. Included in video clip were the useful reminders.
Hope permeates everything! In the young mother’s voice, I could feel the hope she had for her child. It was a wonderful reminder of the light children can bring to their parents. One knows there will be challenges, obstacles, and barriers. Hope in this situation is not ignorant. Hope is filled with a belief of living out the potential of living while being part of a better future.
Encouragement is everywhere. As with many toddlers, the child is not always perfect. Truth be told, encouragement is never determined by perfect results. It is in striving that encouragement finds its place. It is in the attempt that encouragement finds its place in helping. Is in it the joy of the possible that encouragement takes its place as a cheerleader.
No hint of the negative. If one inserted an adult definition of success, I am not sure the toddler got beyond the attempt. If one defined success in the context of a young soul, it was fantastic! Parents choose which one they will use as a reference. To the joy of watching, this parent focused on the individual in the moment. The emotional tone, pitch, and sounds wrapped the child in arms of love, confidence, and belief. Her voice was a powerful motivation to keep striving, learning, and growing. It was an inclusive invitation to be part of her life and to travel together.
If I could share my observations with the child, I would talk of mother’s love-bonds. “Nothing can move it, a rock-solid mountain you can always depend on.” (Psalm 125.2). Even in the reflection, I am reminded that I am Divinity’s toddler. May I know and remember this moment.
