When You Get Little, You Can Ride In My Wagon

As mothers, we often carry the weight of believing we have so much to teach our children. We teach them how to pray, how to obey, how to share, how to speak kindly, and how to trust God. Day after day, we pour into their little hearts, hoping we are shaping them well. Yet sometimes, in the middle of motherhood’s busy and holy work, God gently reminds us of something humbling: Our children are teaching us, too.

Scripture says: “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him” (Psalm 127:3).

What if part of that gift is not only that we raise them… but that God uses them to help raise us spiritually too?

When my firstborn was two years old, he received a wagon for his birthday. Family members took turns pulling him around while he laughed with pure delight. As he rode past me with his aunt pulling the wagon, he looked directly at me and said, “Mom, when you get little, you can ride in my wagon.”

I laughed because, honestly, how do you “get little”? But those words stayed with me. Later, the words of Jesus came rushing into my heart: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). And then another verse followed close behind: “Let the little children come to Me… for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).

Jesus didn’t overlook children. He pointed to them. Children trust naturally. Children forgive quickly. Children know they are dependent. Children are honest about their needs.

Somewhere along the way, adulthood teaches us the opposite. We learn to appear self-sufficient, capable, and in control. Even spiritually, pride quietly slips in and convinces us we can manage life on our own understanding.

But Scripture warns us otherwise: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5–6)

Motherhood has a way of revealing just how much we need God.

There are moments I feel weak, stretched thin, inadequate, and overwhelmed by the responsibility of raising children well. But even there, God meets me with grace. Recently, one phrase has stayed deeply on my heart: EGO = Edge God Out.

Pride pushes God aside. Humility makes room for Him.

I remember reading Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray and being deeply impacted by Jesus’ words in John 15: “I am the vine; you are the branches… apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Without Jesus, I have no real strength of my own. Like a branch cut off from the vine, I cannot bear fruit separated from Him. But connected to Him, His Spirit flows through me like sap through a living branch. His strength becomes my strength. And in my weakness, His power shines even brighter.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

What a comfort for every weary mother. I do not have to parent perfectly in my own strength. I do not have to pretend I have all the answers. I simply have to stay connected to Jesus. Maybe I will never physically fit into my toddler’s wagon… But spiritually, I can become little enough to ride in it.

Little enough to surrender.

Little enough to listen.

Little enough to learn.

Little enough to let Jesus lead.

Because the truth is, God often uses the very children we are trying so hard to teach to transform our own hearts. Motherhood is not just about raising children. It is also about God raising us. So today, may we resist the pull of pride and remember the invitation of Jesus to become like little children again. May we stay humble enough to learn, dependent enough to trust, and small enough for God to lead because the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those willing to become little.

Activation: Becoming Little Again

Take a quiet moment today and ask yourself: Where has pride, pressure, or self-reliance been edging God out of my life? Have I been leaning on my own understanding instead of fully trusting Him? Have I been trying to carry motherhood in my own strength? Have I forgotten that weakness is often the very place where God’s power rests most beautifully?

Now picture yourself beside that little wagon. Hear Jesus gently inviting you to become “little” again. Little enough to trust. Little enough to surrender. Little enough to admit your need for Him. Little enough to learn, even through your children.

PRAYER

“Jesus, make my heart childlike again. Teach me humility. Help me trust You fully and stay connected to You as my true source of strength. Show me what you want to teach me through my children today.” Then take one intentional step. The next time your child speaks, pauses, wonders, forgives quickly, or trusts freely — don’t rush past the moment. Ask “Lord, what are You trying to teach me through this?”

And remember EGO = Edge God Out. But humility makes room for God to move.