A beautiful little child I know experienced problems making friends recently, after she was put into a new class with children she did not know. She told me she went around asking the other children if she could play with them, and they said no. So I told her to try to just join in, not to specifically ask, and it went a bit better. I then happened to bump into her at her school a few times after that, and on one occasion watched as a particularly friendly girl walked up to her and said, come and play with us this lunchtime. She shook her head and walked away. I asked her why she didn't go with the girl who invited her, after all, the girl was giving her an open invitation! This is often how God works: He gives us an invitation and gently guides us along a certain path and it is up to us to follow. No, she said, I don't know the other girls she plays with and they won't want me to play with them. But you know her, I said, and she is inviting you! The little girl did not look sure about this and still refused to go and join the other child. Then it dawned on me that this child was so used to rejection that she did not recognise a changed situation. She was conditioned to expect people not to want to be around her, so that when someone did want to play with her, she expected the same pattern of rejection to play out. How sad, I thought! Already her mindsets are limiting her from freely being herself. I know she is a lovely child, but the more she says no and does not follow the other girl's invitations, the less she will be asked.
Do you recognise your own opportunities or are you so used to things seeming to follow one path that you miss opportunities for change?
No comments:
Post a Comment