# 20 ~ Innocence

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Innocence

I am grateful for innocence.

I know this is a strange one to add to my list... but the reason it came to be on my list is because of a book that I am reading right now. The book is called The Hiding Place. I am sure most people have heard of it, but until now, I have never read it. I came across a part of the book where the Father in this book says something to his daughter that really made me think.

Here is the excerpt from the book:

" Once--I must have been ten or eleven--I asked Father about a poem we had read at school the winter before. One line had described "a young man whose face was not shadowed by sexsin."
...the line had stuck in my head. And so, seated next to Father in the train compartment, I suddenly asked, "Father, what is sexsin?" He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case from the rack over our heads, and set it on the floor.
"Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?" he said.
I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning.
"It's too heavy," I said.
"Yes," he said. "And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you."
And I was satisfied. More than satisfied--wonderfully at peace. There were answers to this and all my hard questions--for now I was content to leave them in my father's keeping. "

Once I read that father's words to his daughter, it made me really think. What do I allow Aaron Jr to see on TV or to accidentally see of a movie playing in the background. I don't watch horrible stuff, I just think that some of the seemingly 'innocent' things are still to much for a child to carry.

I remember in Junior High, I sat next to a certain kid in one of my classes. I was pretty shy, so I didn't talk much unless I had a friend with me in the class. This kid was not my friend, so I did not talk to him. But one day, he passed a note to me that simply said "Leslie is a _____." I will not share the word. Anyhow, I had NO idea what the word meant. I didn't know the kid, so I wasn't sure whether to take it as a good thing or a bad thing... so I just assumed it was not a great word. Well, it took me well over 10 years to know what that word meant. After Aaron and I got married, we were talking about a few of his friends in Junior High. He mentioned that kid who sat next to me who handed me that note... so I told Aaron about the note and told him what it said and asked if he knew what that word meant. Aaron laughed and then told me what the word meant. Luckily, I have forgotten what the word meant again, but when he told me, I remember it being a bad word that was very disrespectful to me.

I am grateful that I didn't know some of the words out there that kids were saying. There are still things that I hear sometimes that go right over my head... and that is just fine with me. I won't go into some of those times that things go over my head, but I know that some of my friends will laugh when they read this because of some of those times. :)

I remember times in my life when I have been told that I am 'sheltered' or 'naive'... and it is not meant as a compliment. But you know what? I take that as a compliment in certain instances.
Because of the day and age we live in, I am pretty sure that kids in our generation even know more than our parents about words and terms that people use sometimes... I give my parents credit for that. I want Aaron Jr to stay innocent for as long as possible.

Think about the burden that is placed on us when we stop having a childlike innocence and know way too much of the non innocent things that go on in this world. If I could UNsee or UNhear or UNknow some of the things that I have seen or heard or know, I would be so happy. That is why I need to protect Aaron Jr... and carry the burden of some of the worldly knowledge for now. I do not want that burden placed upon him too soon.

Here is an awesome quote that I have loved for many years. It goes along with this message:

"There is a beauty every girl has, a gift from God, as pure as sunlight, and as sacred as life. It is a beauty all men love, a virtue that wins all men's souls. That beauty is chastity. Chastity without skin beauty may enkindle the soul; skin beauty without chastity can kindle only the eye. Chastity enshrined in the mold of true womanhood will hold true love eternally."
~ David O. McKay

I think there is a fine line between being protected from the world and being informed of some of the dangers out there in the world. BUT, I am grateful for childlike innocence. My hope is to keep Aaron Jr 'sheltered' and innocent for as long as possible.

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