Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  –  Matthew 18:3

As adults, we have the capacity to know and understand more about life and more about our Catholic faith. We can grapple with complexity and nuance in a way that children simply cannot.  And this is a good thing! But Jesus recognized something special in the way a child sees the world, and perhaps part of that is their simplicity and how it leads them to see through to the real heart of the matter.

We saw an example of this recently, when an 11-year-old named Delilah called in to The Joe Sikorra Show and asked the question that all of us, young and old, should be asking ourselves:

What can I improve in my everyday life, and how can I give glory to God and be closer to Him every day?

Dr. Bill Creasy, a regular guest on the show, answered Delilah’s question in kind, with simplicity and wisdom. He said, “I think a really good thing to do is that when you wake up in the morning, the first thing you should do before you even get out of bed is to sit up in bed, close your eyes, and say, ‘Thank you, God, for another day. Thank you for this particular day. Please guide me in how I live, in what I say, in what I do, that I may honor You.’

And then periodically throughout the day, close your eyes again and say, ‘How am I doing, God? How am I doing?’

I think that would be a really good way to begin forming those positive habits that lead to a very good relationship with God and with everyone else.”

Joe responded similarly, with a straightforward answer. He said, “Cultivate gratitude. And the way to do that, to make gratitude a part of your life, is to just give thanks all the time. I would say, if you want to be holier, if you want to be happier, if you want to bring happiness to other people – always be saying thank you. Be grateful for all the blessings you have in your life.”

Listen to the full call below:

The Joe Sikorra Show airs weekdays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern/7:00 p.m. Pacific on Relevant Radio® and the Relevant Radio App.