learning from little ones

I want to tell you a little bit about my baby girl. E has this special gift. She is full of love. She loves everything and everything is beautiful to her. Flowers are beautiful. The moon is beautiful. Animals are beautiful. Food is beautiful. Clothes are beautiful. Everything is beautiful, and she loves it all. Even people. She does not discriminate. She loves everyone. She has told me, many times, while we've been out shopping that some random person we pass is beautiful and she loves them. She is just naturally full of love. And she says so, too.
When she sees her friend, Grace, she practically jumps for joy and gives her friend a hug, which isn't always reciprocated. But she doesn't even notice.
At home she frequently talks about the people she loves. We have a Christmas card, from one of Mr. Boss's uncles, currently on display, and every time she sees it, E reminds us that those are her friends and she loves them.
Back in October, when we were talking about who she wanted to come to her birthday party, she told me she wanted her friend, Grace, and C's friend, Jack, to be there. Her reason? You guessed it, because she loves them.
So, it was no surprise to me, at our Branch Christmas party this weekend, when she declared her love to her big brother's friend.
We were at our table, eating our dinner, when Jack strolled over and reached behind E to tap C's shoulder. E said an enthusiastic “hi!” which was ignored. Not long after that, I look over to see E had draped her arm around Jack's shoulder. He just stood there. Then she said, “I love you!”
He stood there a moment longer, before shaking her arm off of himself and stating, “I don't like girls.” He then walked right past her and continued trying to talk to C.
I stifled my laughter at the exchange, and E? Why she's so happy and full of love that it didn't even phase her.

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

Mosiah 3:19