A Childlike Hope
Friday, July 9, 2022
Jacob Lawrence – The Library (1960)
INVOCATION
Spirit, from each of our paths we have come to meet you here.
EPIPHANY
Children’s books are a fascinating blend of simplicity and life lessons. They’re like security blankets — all warm and fuzzy on the outside, but deeply symbolic on the inside. They can be funny, touching, deep, dark, poignant, or charming, but in the end, they’re just the books we love. That’s why they so often stay with us well into adulthood.
—Brightly.Com, Raise Kids Who Love Books
“There is nothing sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name.”
—The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo“Believing takes practice.”
—A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle“You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing.”
—Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White"A little magic can take you a long way."
—James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
—The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry"If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
—The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett"Happiness can be found even in the darkest times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
—Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
—The House at Pooh Corner, A.A. Milne“Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you.”
—The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”
—Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery“All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.”
—The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
—The Magician’s Nephew, C.S. Lewis“Words can be worrisome, people complex, motives and manners unclear. Grant her the wisdom to choose her path right, free from unkindness and fear.”
—Blueberry Girl, Neil Gaiman“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
—Little Women, Louisa May Alcott“Don’t you know that everybody’s got a Fairyland of their own?”
—Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers“The sun was rising behind her now; she could feel the heat on her back, and it gave her courage.”
—The Princess Bride, William Goldman“I wished she’d never stop squeezing me. I wished I could spend the rest of my life as a child, being slightly crushed by someone who loved me.”
—Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine
WORD OF HOPE
Children’s books are stepping stones to hope.
BENEDICTION
To Light Their Way, Kayla Craig
[From childhood to adulthood]
May all your life
Be a prayer—
A holy kiss
Atop sticky foreheads and matted curls.
May all you life
Be a prayer—
Learning each day afresh
What it is to see God in you
And God in your neighbor.
May all your life
Be a prayer—
An offering of presence and peace,
Poured out and replenished
Between parent and child.
May all your life—
Your fantastic,
Dirty,
Messy,
Holy
Life—
Be a prayer
This is perfection. Thank you for sharing! I read children’s books all the time and this was absolutely honey to my soul.
I love children's books!