Love Through the Eyes of a Child

This was E-mailed to me:

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' See what you think:

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'

-Rebecca, age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

-Billy, age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'

-Karl, age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'

-Chrissy, age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'

-Terri, age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'

-Danny, age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'

-Emily, age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'

-Bobby, age 7

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'

-Nikka, age 6

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'

-Noelle, age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'

-Tommy, age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

-Cindy, age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody you don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'

-Clare, age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

-Elaine, age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'

-Chris, age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'

-Mary Ann, age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'

-Lauren, age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)

-Karen, age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'

-Mark, age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'

-Jessica, age 8

And the final one

The winner was a four-year-old child whose next-door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

Just a few comments about the above: I personally almost always have a hard time knowing what to say at funerals. To say, “I understand exactly how you feel,” is a cop-out, because I have no way of knowing how someone else feels. Even if I have had a similar loss (which I generally have not), it doesn’t necessarily follow that the loss hit them the same way it did me. I hope it is okay if I just help the family cry…

As far as Mommy seeing Daddy on the toilet and not thinking that it’s gross, part of me hopes that it’s just that Mommy has gotten good at hiding her feelings…

I don’t think I’ve ever seen stars come out of anybody; that sounds like somebody’s learning life lessons from cartoons…

I’m not convinced that getting hand-me-downs is really an expression of love, but if the person receiving the hand-me-downs thinks that is love, then I don’t want to disillusion them.

Puppies lick peoples’ faces after having been left alone all day because they miss them (and, yes, that is because of love). Try not to leave the puppy alone all day any more than you absolutely have to, though, because they can learn not to love you….

To learn to love better, start with a friend that you hate… Not to nitpick, but I have a hard time with the idea of a friend that I hate… It’s a good point, though, if you can learn to love someone that you truly hate, then it should be easy to love the people that you really get along with. For most of us, that takes a lot of prayer. It is a commandment, though. I know from experience that people that rub me the wrong way become much less abrasive when I start praying for them (and a lot of times, that’s more because Jesus changes me than because Jesus changes them).

Finally, I definitely agree that you shouldn’t say, “I love you,” unless you mean it. I think, too, that if you mean it, you should say it a lot, because people do forget. Sometimes saying, “I love you,” is a reminder to the person saying it, as well. I know God likes to hear us say that we love Him. Matthew 18:3.