I had to run to the grocery store yesterday and asked the girls if they wanted to run with me. I was walking out the door when I saw my little ragamuffin Emily with the remnants of some afternoon snack on her shirt and hair that a bird would be seriously temped to set up house in. I promptly sent her back upstairs to “get presentable.”

Granted, it is my job as a parent to teach my kids how to take care of themselves and not be slobs, but I realized something: I cared very much about how we looked walking through the store, Emily didn’t. She was just happy to be out spending some time with her dad regardless of what others thought of her.

When the disciples asked Jesus who the greatest person was in His kingdom, this was Jesus’ reply:

So he called a little child to him whom he set among them. Then he said, ‘In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. And so, the one that makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.’ (Matthew 18:2-4)

Emily wasn’t conscious of how she looked. She wasn’t concerned about others’ opinion of her. I was the only person whose opinion mattered to her and she already knew that I loved her no matter how she looked.

Something to think about next time we’re getting all worked up about what others are thinking or saying about us. We already have the love and approval of the only one whose opinion really matters. He loves us just as we are, messy face and all.