Abandon.... "I love you with all my____!" Zach

I love how kids think. They have no ready-made template they click on (insert thought here), no box, no limits. Earlier this year we made up silly phrases about how much we love on another. We said things like, "I love you to the moon and back," "I love you with all the chocolate in the world." So we were on a round of this when my youngest son, Zach (age 3), blurts out, "Daddy I love you with all my underwears!!" And that's as big as it gets for a 3 year old! That became the standard (after we dried the tears from laughing so hard) at our house. "I love you with all my underwears" was heard each night from the kids bedrooms and shouted out the door as Adam left for work. When Adam went to Africa in September and would call home, guess what was the first thing Zach told his Daddy? "I love you with all my underwear, Daddy!" with a smile that reverberated across the miles. This made me think about how pure and unadulterated a child's love is. I've always thought my kids can't possibly love me as much as I love them. I gave birth to them for goodness sake...! Yes, but...they love me for ME. Not for what I buy them, or how clean I can make their room, or even how fancy a birthday cake I can make. They love me because I'm their mom. When a friend hurts their feelings or they fall off their bike or they don't understand why Jesus had to suffer, they call for me! They're the first to forgive me when I've messed up. They don't need tricks or really many reasons, they just love! I don't know, the love of a child is boundless in a way. Where my love seeks equations at times. Five plus four equals nine. One clean house + eight hours of sleep = more love to go around. Three good attitudes + three good manners = love? It makes me think of what Jesus said to his disciples in Mat 18:3: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Children have something I think we adults lose some along the way - Abandon. Here's the definition: verb, to yield (oneself) without restraint or moderation; give (oneself) over to natural impulses, usually without self-control: to abandon oneself to grief. Children love with all their underwear! Ever heard an adult say that?!