With a Little Child to Guide Them: Following God’s Plan With Innocence and Joy

I have always been a planner.  Ever since my oldest children were little, our days have run like clockwork because meals, naps, and other activities of daily child rearing life are planned.  I even have a rule that if we have to leave the house, we start preparing fifteen minutes prior to departure to allow for last-minute diaper changes or toddler meltdowns. Some of this is out of necessity; some of it is due to my own need for order.

The holiday seasons are not exempted from my preparations, and I generally have my Christmas shopping done and my cards sealed and ready to mail well before the beginning of the Advent season (okay, often before Halloween). In my defense, as far as Christmas planning is concerned, I like to complete those tasks early so that I may focus on preparing my heart and home to receive the Prince of Peace.

“For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:5).  Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, his titles and work of salvation were foretold in these words from the inspired prophet Isaiah.  Indeed, many of these titles (and other poetic words from Isaiah) are woven into the hymns and prayers we use throughout the Advent season.

It is often interesting to reflect upon God’s plan of salvation (He’s a planner too!) and wonder at the idea that our Savior, the promised Messiah and Incarnation of the divine, came into this world as a helpless child. That he was, as any infant, completely dependent upon the care and love of his human mother and father. That he who would be called Counselor could not speak, and he who was a Hero was weak.  

And yet, as I watch my own children throughout Advent preparing for the celebration of Christmas, I realize that children, unburdened by worldly concerns or fears, may be the people who can most fully open their hearts and souls to the gifts and blessings of the season.  And perhaps that is why our Creator chose to send his son as a child, an unencumbered heart and mind open to the plan of salvation.  

A bit further in the prophecy, Isaiah gives us this glimpse of the peace that is to come: “Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them” (Isaiah 11:6).  Again, a child’s innocence and trust in the promise provides the perfect avenue for God’s plan to unfold.  

During this season of Advent, as we all prepare for the great feast of Christmas with repentance and reflection, may we open our hearts like children.  May we see God’s plan as a reflection of his love for us and follow it with great joy.  Peace in this Advent!