The Baby on the Plane

As I was on a plane, flying to a different time zone, I noticed a baby sitting with his father two rows ahead of me. He was on the aisle seat, and I was diagonal from him by the window, giving me a clear view through the gap between the seats. What caught my attention was the baby’s expression—he was constantly laughing and smiling at his father. Even as he looked curiously around the plane, his smile never left his face. It didn’t matter where he looked or what he saw—he just kept smiling.

I then glanced around at the other passengers. The adults weren’t smiling. They weren’t laughing. Their faces were blank, some even carrying the weight of sadness or exhaustion. I thought back to just a few hours earlier in the airport—TSA lines filled with people stressed, short-tempered, and irritated with one another. It made me pause and wonder: shouldn’t we be more like this baby?

How can we, as adults, learn to reflect the joy and wonder of that six-month-old child? Why do we assume we have everything figured out? Do we, really? Or is there wisdom in this child’s simple joy, even if he doesn’t understand the world around him or why he’s smiling?

I thought back to Christ’s words about being childlike. But what does that mean? How does someone who is striving to grow into a mature, responsible adult also stay childlike? Christ doesn’t tell us to remain children. Scripture reminds us of the importance of maturity and strength. God told Job to gird himself like a man, and Paul wrote in his letters about putting away childish things.

So, the key is this: we must mature in strength, courage, and wisdom, just as God commanded Joshua to be "strong and courageous." Yet, at the same time, we are called to be childlike in our faith, as Christ taught. The maturity we develop as adults should not harden us but instead allow us to maintain a soft heart that trusts, hopes, and finds joy—even amid life’s struggles.

That baby smiled a big, unguarded smile, stretching from ear to ear. And that’s what we need to do too. Yes, the world is heavy with sorrow and difficulties, but we can still choose to focus on the good. Like a sunflower that turns its face toward the sun, letting the shadows fall behind, we too must find the strength to seek the light in our lives.

May God grant us the courage to look toward the good, to notice His blessings, and to smile—at least once a day—at His abundant goodness.