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Inspiration replaces age group angst
It can be easy to feel that one connects better with or likes one age group over another.
I was going to be working at a summer camp and knew I should pray about my likes and dislikes. I used to think older girls were harder to connect with because they had so much drama and their conversations were often focused on shallow things that didn’t seem to matter at all. To me, being around older girls was like high school, and I remembered how no one could ever relate to me. I was the oddball out.
With little kids, though, it was obvious to me that they loved being loving. They were silly and innocent and had that childlike trust I was always drawn to. And when they got mad, they were so quick at forgetting why they were mad and would soon be happy again.
But I realized that if I was limiting those good things I connected with and loved about young kids to a certain age group, and saying that older kids were just more difficult, then I was doing two things.
First, what was I saying about myself, since I was “older”? Was I not as childlike or loving as I used to be?
Second, I was completely ignoring the Christly nature in all the older kids. I realized I had to see that older kids, too, were just as much like little children as I was, including having God-given qualities such as childlike trust, innocence, and freedom from holding on to hurt and anger. I didn’t want to limit anyone to stereotypes.
So I chose to see what I saw in young kids in the older kids, and in everyone. The more I’ve done this, the more I’ve found myself making happier connections with people of all ages.
What happened at summer camp? Well, I did get to spend some time with the older girls. I stepped in to substitute teach a dance lesson and taught a soccer lesson to them. I also was a counselor to middle schoolers at one point—and I had a blast. The middle schoolers were silly and giddy and a joy. And I definitely saw examples of maturity and respect, too. Sometimes, I would even tell them bedtime stories, and they would help add to those stories.
You know, I’ve realized that each age group has its challenges. But I love that we all get to practice seeing the kingdom of heaven, God’s reign of harmony, right where we are (see Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 590).
—Ann Sebring, Michigan, US