childlike

"The Savior has given us a model for developing humility. When his disciples approached Him and inquired, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' He responded by placing a little child in their midst. Becoming like a child is a gradual process of spiritual development in which we are aided by the Holy Ghost and our reliance on Christ's atonement. Through this process we will eventually acquire the childlike attributes of meekness, humility, patience, love, and spiritual submissiveness. True humility will inevitable lead us to say to God, 'Thy will be done.' And because what we are does affect what we do, our submissiveness will be reflected in our reverence, gratitude, and willingness to accept callings, counsel, and correction."
- Elder Marlin K. Jensen

i came across this passage written in one of my journal type things today, which i'm sure was no accident seeing as i was in a generally cranky mood while trying to deal with my new, seemingly all consuming calling. whoa!

i love how he says that becoming like a child is a gradual process of spiritual development. we spend so much of our lives trying to be adults, avoiding childlike behavior, when what we should really be doing is focusing on how to regain our childlike innocence. it's a shame that we ever grew out of it in the first place. this was a good lesson for me today.