Heart of a Child

THE STORY

This song was written on Christmas Eve 2011 shortly after I turned seventeen. Each verse reflects a definite lesson that God was trying to teach me at the time: trust, faith, and love. Over the course of the year prior to writing this song, God changed the plans that I had counted on for a long time, goals that I had worked towards for several years…thus the lines, “When we know where the journey is ending/ And we know where the journey’s to start.” At the time, I didn’t feel like I knew either. It was during this year that God tested my faith in his promises more profoundly than I had ever been tested to that point in my life… “But when we pray so long/ And no answer’s here/ We doubt your promise/ We give way to our fears.” And maybe more esoteric and less comfortable are the lyrics to the last verse. I recently reworked the lines, but they carry the same message of five years ago. The easiest thing to do when others hurt us is to close our hearts and quit loving… “We grow weary of the loving/ And we fear the grief again.” God was faithful to me and reminded me of the importance of a childlike trust, a childlike faith, and a childlike love.

THE SONG

1) We’re taught to trust You asking no questions
And sometimes it isn’t hard
When we know where the journey is ending
And we know where the journey’s to start
But when darkness falls
Doubts begin to flood our soul
We don’t like the path You’ve chosen
We long to take control

Ch) Give us the trust of a child
‘Till when You hurt us
We’ll trust that You know best
Give us the faith of a child
‘Till on Your promises
We can rest
Give us the love of a child
‘Till we keep on lovin’
When our love’s put to the test
Father, give us the heart
Give us the heart
Of a child

2) We’re taught to put faith in all that You’ve promised
And sometimes it’s easy to say
When it seems that You’re listenin’ closely
To all of the prayers that we pray
But when we pray so long
And no answer’s here
We doubt Your promise
We give way to our fears

3) We’re taught to love without limits or boundaries
And sometimes it’s easy to do
When surrounded by walls of protection
Where the sting of rejection is new
But when our love runs deep
And the giving leaves us broken
We grow weary of the loving
And we fear the grief again

Bridge) Unless we become as little children
We cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven
May we never forget
The trust we’ve had in days now spent
Help us alway remember
The heart that You require

Father, give us the heart
Give us the heart
Of a child

Lyrics & music by Merilee J. Barnard © December 24, 2011