I recently spent a day at Carter Caves with my daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, Loretta, 5, and Thurston, who was 3 on that very day. It was a beautiful spring day, and we had such a good time. We toured the Cascade Cave, had a picnic next to a playground then walked to the natural bridge where we crossed the creek almost without getting our feet wet. On the way back, we ran into a woman and her two children who we happened to know, but had not seen in years. These children were wading in shallow water. The little girl, Anna, looked at Loretta and said, "Wanna catch water spiders?" Loretta was more than willing, and the two of them took off, hand-in hand, with buckets ready to scoop up unsuspecting spiders or any other critters they might encounter. You would have thought they were life-long friends, but the last time they were together was four years ago. I'm sure neither had a memory of the other, but what a precious sight to see them traipsing off through the water.
Several years ago my Sunday School class watched a video about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At one point it showed an apartment building in Nazareth (I think) where both Israeli and Palestinian families lived. An Israeli woman and her Palestinian neighbor were interviewed, both stating that they had never spoken to each other. I found that to be such a sad situation. How can you be neighbors for years and never stop to pass the time with each other? What lost opportunities for understanding! Those women could have learned something from watching two little girls, strangers one minute, wading in the water arm-in-arm the next.
Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Luke 18: 16-17). I think I glimpsed a little piece of heaven that day at Carter Caves.
Anita Gardner Farrell
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