So this is a picture of 2-yr old Maritza's feet (Everyone say "aww").  You're probably wondering why she has two mismatched shoes on.  Well here goes the punchline to this blog entry, I'm here to tell you that this is the new trend.  OK, not really.  Although, it would be a suitable trend for all seasons in Texas!  However, the story behind this picture went something like this: I decided to stop by to visit Maritza, she ran to her room, put her shoes on all by herself, and said "Bye Mommy!" because she thought "Tia Tina" (Me, "Aunt Tina") was there to pick her up for a date.  Aside from my heart melting from cuteness... it got me thinking about something else a little..

I heard this quote once and it went something like this "Just as a child cannot do a bad coloring, nor can a child of God do a bad prayer."  You might ask how this has anything to do with this story, well I'm getting there..

My immediate reaction to little Maritza running to me, eager to leave, was:  "Hahaha, silly girl, your shoes don't even match!"... Why?  Well, because her SHOES DIDN'T MATCH!  Now I was teased in elementary school for wearing ruffle socks in 6th grade and WAS NOT about to let this little one get teased as well, haha.  However, I retell this story not to bring up the social issue of bullying (which is a sad, sad thing kids face, unfortunately), but to reflect on how QUICK I was to overlook her eagerness and excitement about wanting to spend time with me, that in a way, I criticized her efforts.  I looked past the heart and instead found a way to criticize it.  How quickly are we to criticize ourselves and think that we have to come a certain way to God?  Or better yet, how quickly are we to do this very thing in others efforts in seeking God? "The Lord does not look at things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7).  There you have it, God looks at the heart.  But if you're like me, you over analyze the heart and make matters more complicated, which is why I love this next verse...

In the bible, Jesus called a little child, had him stand among them, and said "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:2-4).  

Often times I try to find ways to clean myself up before I can come to Christ.  As if he will "love me more" if I have the "right matching" shoes on.  The truth is, the only "right" thing we have going for us is Christ, and all our other efforts to clean ourselves up are considered to be "filthy rags".  It is the heart that God looks at... He will not reject us because of the condition that it is in.  I bring the quote back up that I mentioned earlier, "just as a child cannot do bad coloring, nor can a child of God do a bad prayer" , to hopefully give you a fresh perspective that it is impossible for God to be disappointed in your prayer, His child, when you are seeking & praying to Him with a sincere heart.  He gets excited when you're eager to spend time with Him and doesn't recount all the mistakes you made in the past 24-hours & say "Nope Christina, be better and then we'll talk"... He wants us to become like little children and just go to Him with reckless abandonment.

If you have a child, I say try this activity: go through your children's drawings or coloring's and ask yourself, "is this a bad drawing?" , most likely your answer will be "No! It's my child's drawing, therefore I love it!" ... same thing applies to God in our prayers to Him...