How We Used to Trust

Matthew 18:3 – “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The best days started with a camper door swinging open and bare feet hitting dirt. Jimmy Davis State Park was our whole world in the summer, and we ruled it like royalty—with bike helmets too loose and hearts too full to care.

We rode fast, never cautious. We skidded through puddles at the boat ramp, climbed every tree we could reach, and made friends without asking names. No schedules, no screens, no fences. Just the sweet, wild space of being young and alive.

By evening, we’d gather around picnic tables, smelling like sun and lake water, drawn in by the scent of burgers on the grill. The stars blinked on overhead like they were proud of us.

Those days left a mark. Not just in the photo albums, but deep in my memory—because we weren’t just having fun. We were free. Fully alive, fully ourselves, and deeply certain that we were safe and cared for.

And I wonder… why did we stop living like that?

The world is louder now. More guarded. And yet I still catch myself longing for something I can’t quite name. Until I remember: that sense of freedom was never about the campground—it was about trust.

That’s what children do best. They trust. Fully. Freely. Without trying to control what’s next.

Jesus once said the kingdom belongs to people like that. People who still dare to believe before they see.

So maybe this isn’t just nostalgia. Maybe it’s a reminder. That childlike trust is not something we grow out of—it’s something we’re called back to.

And maybe it’s not too late to live like that again.