Suffer the Children

When Jesus said "Suffer the children" he meant to allow the children to go to him ie. not to forbid them; in olden English 'suffer' means 'allow'. I think Jesus also used children as an imagery of how one can learn from their innocence and humble faith.”

Although I know full well that 'suffer' is not what it means in today's English, this phrase "Suffer the children" still flashes my mind whenever a child shares about what he has to put up with at home. I guess what I really mean is 'How the children suffer!'.

This primary 6 boy whom I am seeing once in about 3 weeks greeted me with "Long time no see", a sign he had a story waiting to tell. He started ranting with mocked irritation about a girl in class who never ever returns things she borrows from him (which does not surprise me as boy-girl relationship often preoccupies their minds and is of great significance in their world). He then went on to fuss about his mum who seems to go back on her promises. So as usual I helped him to be more cognitive of his contribution to such tiffs. Then as he warmed up, the mischievious smile on his face faded and he started to grab the cushion. Bit by bit he tried to talk about what he himself might not understand, the events happening around him. As he spoke I could feel he was trying to make sense of the situation at home and struggling to express his mixed feelings. Apparently he had gone with his mum to consult a doctor and the doctor warned him never to irritate his mother who was given one month MC to cope with stress and anxieties. His parents were divorced and the last he heard from his father was when he called to wish him happy birthday last year.

You can sense that a child is growing up before his time when he swings from "I can't just stand here and watch my mother falling sick" one minute to "She said I could play computer games for one hour but she kept yelling for me to stop before the time's up" the next minute. I have also noticed that amongst children from single families, a common complaint from teachers about them seems to be "day dreaming" or "mind drifting" in class. It wrenches one's heart to see a child struggling to cope with the shattered faith that the world and in particular his home is a safe place to live in.