For the first five years of my life I lived on the other side of America in Virginia. Across the street from our home lived a good friend of mine. She was six years older than me, and I thought she was the coolest girl ever! She let me play with her porcelain dolls (under her supervision, of course!). She played outside with me. She truly invested in me and made me feel special.

Today I try to be like that. I try to invest in the little girls around me and make them feel special. I listen to their stories. I play with them outside. I laugh with them.

The more time I spend with young kids, specifically under the age of seven, I’ve noticed how much they mimic teenagers. I can’t tell you how many times I have been copied word-for-word, action-for-action by five-year-olds. It’s crazy!

I wish I could say that I’ve only seen 5-year-olds copy my good behavior, but that’s not the case. They copy everything, good or bad. This has impressed upon me a very important point: We teens are being watched.

Little eyes are watching our every move and mimicking them. Remember my neighbor across the street and how I thought she was the coolest girl ever? Through the eyes of a 5-year-old, we teens are “super cool.”

I’d like to share with you 2 important things I have learned from being around little kids:

1. Know that your actions are being mirrored. Even if you don’t spend a lot of time with people younger than you, little eyes are still watching you. They watch you interact with your friends at church. They listen to the way you talk to your mom. They see what you wear, and often mimic it. One little girl’s mom jokingly told me that if I dyed my hair pink her daughter would want pink hair too. I believe this is a good reminder that what we do affects others, not just ourselves.
2. Invest in the kids around you. Our impact on them is greater than we know. You may even be the reason a child comes to Christ.

Finally, I want to leave you with this verse:

Matthew 25:40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

As we consider our interactions with kids, remember that ultimately the time we spend investing in little ones is time spent serving our Lord, and the time we spend serving God is never wasted!

With love,

Kelsey