My niece is almost two years old and has taught me so much. She's taught me about life, about happiness, and about love.

Many would ask, "How has a person who's only lived two years taught anyone about life?" When she was born, my parents and I went to the hospital and waited anxiously for her to meet the world. While the long minutes of waiting turned into hours, the doctors finally came back to where we were and announced that Hayden Grace was here and we could go see her. Happiness filled my heart and when I got to hold her, I could feel the presence of God in the room. Knowing that the creator of the universe made this little person and blessed me with her being in my family. Since she has grown up, I have seen her be courageous and fearless in everything she does. For example, when she was learning to walk there were plenty of times she fell down, but she had the faith to get back up and try it again because even though she would fall again, she would be alright. She had faith that she would eventually get the hang of it. This has taught me a lot about my own faith. God calls us to have child-like faith and to trust him in everything we do. So, even though my niece is only two, she has taught me more in these past two years than I have learned in my past twenty.

Hayden is probably the happiest and funniest two year old I know (yes, I'm biased). But she has taught me a lot about being happy. Every time I'm with her, she somehow makes me laugh and smile. She has brought our family more joy and laughter than I've seen in a while. Little things like swinging and picking out a toy at the dollar store brightens her eyes and makes her happy like making good grades makes me happy. She has taught me that you don't have to make the best grades or have the best job or have the perfect relationship to be happy. Finding the little joys in life can do the trick.

She has ultimately taught me about love. I'm not talking about a romantic love, I'm talking about a Jesus kind of love. The best kind. If you ask anyone close to me, they would tell you I'm not a big fan of hugs or just touching in general. But hearing her yell my name and run to me with open arms ready for a hug is probably the best feeling. She shows me love in the simplest ways and I couldn't be more thankful for those hugs. When she was first born, I couldn't imagine how much I could love a child that wasn't even mine. Now I can't imagine how I'm going to love her more than I do now, but I know that she'll show me a way.

Kids are a loving, funny, bundle of joy that can also teach you more about life than you thought possible. My niece can make the hard days better by just looking up at me and saying, "Auntie Amber, I love you." I'm so grateful to have learned these lessons from a 2-year-old.