Liam's Sound

Liam’s Sound

Today a couple of friends and I were out for coffee, and talking about the qualities of life we want to be developing, things like faith and goodness, self-control (especially when it comes to chocolate!), perseverance (sticking to our goals), kindness and of course love. God actually wants us to be working to develop these qualities, but it sometimes seems so hard!

I thought of my special little two-year old friend, Liam. On Sunday, I went up to him at church, as his dad was holding him and said "Hi." He didn't answer, but I could see that he was thinking and his mouth was moving.

"Are you practising your special sound?" asked his Dad.

I leaned in close to listen and sure enough he was clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, creating a tiny little "pop!" He was obviously dedicated to working on it until he had it down pat. A few weeks ago when I talked to him, he was practising his wink.

As I thought about my quest for the development of spiritual qualities in my life, I realized that Liam had a lot to teach me. "Unless we become as little children..." Little children rehearse new skills until they become a part of them. We may know the qualities that we want to cultivate, but until we focus and really practise, they will probably continue to elude us.