The bible teaches us that the kingdom of God belongs to little children. I remember reading this for the first time and instantly thinking: “That’s because they are so pure.”
As I grew in my personal journey called life and was honored to be a mother myself, I learned that purity is only a small part of the many amazing qualities a child has that makes them be so in touch with the kingdom that’s within. When my daughter was born I promised myself that I would cook her baby food from scratch and puree it on a daily basis rather than giving her jarred preservative rich baby foods. And I did. I made enough for the day and provided her with great nutritious, green foods such as spinach with potato puree, broccoli and pasta pure, and so on.
The moment she turned 12 months she started to differentiate between the foods I fed her and she became selective. I never forget the day I fed her the “green stuff” and she spit it out and refused to eat ever eat it again. I thought it was a phase and didn’t worry about it, until I found myself 6 months later sitting in her pediatrician’s office asking for help.
I was advised not to worry about it as long as she showed a good appetite. I supplemented her vegetable nutrients by giving her organic gummy bears that were made with vegetable concentrate. She didn’t eat vegetables for many years to come. I tried everything, all except forcing her to eat vegetables.
Today she’s a healthy almost-fifteen year old beautiful girl who has been rarely sick throughout her childhood.
Children ask WHY all the time and it’s what we as adults should do as well, especially when it comes to food. When we become adults we “just do it” and don’t ask questions anymore. I think that is one aspect why the kingdom of heaven is within children: they ask questions and they change and grow like the speed of lightening.
Although my daughter learned from me, I learned even more from her. I started to watch closely how much she ate and in what intervals. I noticed that from an early age she ate little at a time, but more frequently. I started to do the same. I don’t remember her ever saying: “I’m stuffed.” All I remember her say is: “I’m full,” or “I’ve had enough.” Adults on the other hand have a tendency to eat beyond full and beyond enough, we go to stuffed and then wonder why we feel tired afterwards. I would always let her serve her own plate with the quantity she wanted and taught her that getting seconds, thirds and fourths is completely appropriate if she was still hungry. She never learned how to use her body as a garbage can by having to finish everything on her plate because her plates are always moderately filled with food with just enough food, but never too much.
I also noticed that just like my puppy she too was bouncy and happy after a meal, ready to play and go have fun. Could it be because they listened to their bodies and never overate?
One of the worst things you can do to a child is take over their digestive system, their body and their mind by telling them how much or how little they should eat (or by withholding food for punishment). It is not our job to control them or their bodies or to “know better” and tell them so, but to teach them how to listen to their own wonderful bodies and for them to honor their bodies and to love their earthly vehicle.
I am grateful to see my daughter having grown up to be such a gorgeous and beautiful young teenager who is proud of the way she looks, takes care of herself, loves her body and is free to eat whatever she wants without ever worrying about it. She lets her body be the guide and she obeys and honors it. Let’s do the same as adults and get back to trusting ourselves, rather than the media. Be your own guide, trust yourself and love yourself. Your body longs to cooperate with you by healing itself and giving you a vehicle to last a long time so you can accomplish a great purpose here on earth.
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