Childlike moments: Finding out what growing up is about

Samantha Jones
Published: May 15, 2008

“Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor Him in your youth before you grow old and say “Life is not pleasant anymore.” Eccl. 12:1

Well this is it. AP exams are finishing and graduation is only one month away. That means college is only a summer away and real life begins.

Honestly I can’t believe it. I have been looking forward to this transition for as long as I can remember, I want it to come so fast, but yet I don’t want these moments to end. These last few weeks have turned into a bittersweet battle that I don’t know how to fight.

Last week is a week that I know I will never forget. Our youth group had the opportunity to lead a “youth revival” at a church in Fredericksburg. It was an amazing experience being able to meet people from all different ages and backgrounds. I learned more in this past week than I think I have from any textbook.

There was one girl in particular who changed my perspective completely. Her name was Hope. She was a little 8-year-old girl with short blonde hair and glasses and the most sincere smile. Every day of that week when I would walk in the door she would be standing there waiting for me, holding a picture that she had colored for me. Every day she thought of me at school and drew a picture. It was breathtaking how sweet she was, and now my room is covered in all of her artwork.

But Hope taught me something more than just the appreciation of thoughtful artwork and I don’t think she even realized it. One night — I think it was Thursday — Hope came running into the room with a snail in her hand. To be totally honest, I have never actually seen or held a snail before, so I had no clue what to do with it. She brought me this snail with so much excitement on her face and her hands were shaking because she didn’t know what to do with it and she was wincing with uncertainty. Hope plopped this snail in my hand, and it started crawling onto my fingertips. She and I were completely fascinated by this gooey snail. Hope just laughed and laughed and jumped up and down screaming “Look at it!, Look at it!” It was captivating. I felt like a little kid, and the snail even relieved itself in my hand, but at that point I didn’t even care as long as she was still laughing. We started playing with him (I assume all bugs and things like this are boys so I’ll just call it him), taking him to the sink to see what he would do in the water. We poked his eyes to watch them retract into his head. On our hands and knees we were on the floor watching him suction-cup to the ground, and every move that he would make we would both gasp and break out into laughter again.

Graduating and leaving is an exciting time in our lives. Being able to step out into the real world makes being 18 years old something to wait for. But in the excitement of the transition from being a teenager to an adult, we can forget the small things in life and that’s what Hope taught me. Hope taught me what ‘growing- up’ is about. It’s about not forgetting what you have learned and carrying it with you, such as the things that we learned in our childhood.

Sometimes, I feel like we forget what it’s like to be curious, adventurous, sincere and even innocent. Rushing around in life until its not any fun anymore defeats the purpose of what it means to truly live. Allowing the small things in life — such as a snail — to touch your heart makes a huge difference. It allowed me to stop and see what life is really about and to appreciate everything that surrounds me at this moment and not to take it for granted because I’m thinking about the future too much and trying to hurry up to be an adult.

Yeah, life is really scary, trust me, but I think if sometimes we stop and look at it through Hope’s perspective, things like being pooped on by a snail are hilarious and not that bad, but when we are stressed out all the time, things like that freak us out.

Unfortunately, however, Hope carried the snail in her hand all night and ‘Sam’ (short for Samuel) died. But she wasn’t upset. She just looked at me with her huge eyes and said “Don’t worry!, I’ll find you another one, and I’ll put grass in an envelope and put the snail in it and mail it to you!” When she said that, my heart sank. Why didn’t I think of that? Am I too old or too “adultish” to have an imagination like that? I mean am I walking around with this cloud over my head unable to see into this world that she sees?

Stepping back and appreciating where God has brought me and where He is bringing me is something that I pray I experience daily. I never want to forget to admire the beauty of people — and even bugs — that He has surrounded me with. I thank Him for the realization that even though we all are graduating and turning into adults, it’s OK to still experience childlike moments.
Samantha Jones is president of the Culpeper County High School Class of 2008. E-mail .