What Makes My Kids Cry Today

Flashback Moment — A Few Years Ago

It was one of those ordinary afternoons — the kind where the house was noisy, the kitchen smelled like a mix of lunch leftovers and something sweet, and the boys were circling like sharks around the counter.

I had barely turned my back before the box of eclairs disappeared.

They were sitting there, all five of them, happily devouring those cream-filled pastries like it was their job.

Me: “I don’t know how y’all can eat those.”

Second oldest, mouth full and smiling big: “It’s because we’re boys!”

And that was it. End of discussion. Logic, apparently, didn’t stand a chance against boyhood confidence.

I remember laughing so hard. But later that night, as I wiped chocolate fingerprints off the counter (and the fridge handle… and maybe a light switch or two), I kept thinking about how sure he was.

No hesitation. No second-guessing. Just this is who we are.

Sometimes I wish I had a little more of that kind of certainty.

Because somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we start overthinking everything — what we eat, what we say, what we do, how we look, if we’re doing enough, being enough, feeling enough.

We trade in joy for justification.

Spontaneity for self-consciousness.

But kids… they just live. They enjoy the moment in front of them.

They don’t worry if they’ve “earned” the eclair — they just thank you (if you’re lucky) and bite in before you can change your mind.

And maybe that’s a little glimpse of the kind of joy God wants for us.

Not careless, but carefree.

Not consumed by guilt or overthinking, but free enough to enjoy His goodness right where we are — sticky hands, crumbs on the floor, laughter in the background, and all.

Life doesn’t always give us big mountaintop moments. Sometimes it’s just a box of eclairs, a kitchen full of chaos, and a reminder that joy doesn’t have to make sense to be real.

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

— Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

So maybe today, let’s eat the “eclairs” in front of us — whatever that looks like.

Let’s enjoy the good things God’s placed in our hands without overanalyzing them.

Let’s smile a little more, laugh a little louder, and remember that sometimes the best explanation is the simplest one:

“It’s because we’re His.”