culture, Family
Last week I had the opportunity to take a walk though Carlsbad Caverns with my family. This underground group of caves is truly amazing. You have to take an elevator 750 feet below the earth’s surface. The walking path takes you through 8.2 acres of caverns and tunnels. There are bottomless pits, natural “draperies” that look like liquid poured from the ceiling and frozen instantly, stalagmites, stalactites, and massive pillars formed naturally over thousands of years.
Among all this natural splendor I couldn’t help but notice the pace of the large crowd of visitors that day. People were in such a hurry that I often found myself in the way as they moved to pass me. Some tourists weren’t even looking at the formations or reading the information signs. They walked briskly by, chatting about hitting the gift shop before going out to dinner. So much beauty to take in but it was treated like a cheap roadside attraction.
One person who wasn’t in a hurry was my six-year-old son Hudson. His eyes were as big as can be. At one point, he looked up at his mother and said, “This must be God’s majesty”. Someone got it! Amidst our addiction to consume, take, and move on to the next thing, a little boy recognized the awesome picture God painted for him to enjoy. How often, in our haste, do we miss out on God’s majesty, on hearing His voice, or on being used to touch a life?
So what? So slow down, appreciate creation, take less, give more, and ask God to let you experience wonder like a six-year-old.
“Then he said, I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” – Matthew 18:3, 4
Love
Here’s something I wrote a while back. I’m not sure why, but it was really resonating with me today…
So today I decided to hang out with my three year old for a little while. We’d been putting our change in a baby bottle to raise money for Crisis Pregnancy Centers and the bottle was too full of coins to put any more in it. I asked Hudson if he wanted to go to the bank with me so we could exchange all the coins for paper money in order to fit more in the bottle. When we arrived, he excitedly brought the bottle to the teller window and watched the kind lady empty all the change into the coin counter. My son had a particular interest in this because, of all our family members, he put the most money in. When it was all counted, the teller gave us back fifteen dollars and a bottle with more room for our spare change.
After our bank errand, I asked Hudson if he’d like to get some lunch with me. Asking your child if he’d like to eat at a resteraunt is pretty much like asking if the sky is blue, and asking a three year old if McDonald’s sounds good is like asking a drowning man if some air would be nice. He said, “YES!”
If you’ve ever shared a meal with a three year old boy, you know there’s not a ton of conversation that takes place. “How do you like your lunch?”, “What did you do this morning?”, and “You’re getting so big!” were my contributions to the dialogue, and “uh-huh” was his. It didn’t take long for me start looking around the dining room while I waited for Hudson to take down his chicken nuggets.
As I scanned the room, certain realizations came alive in me. I noticed an older woman having a lively conversation with her adult son and I thought about the wonderful gift God gave us in relationships. I saw a young man having lunch with his toddler. He was wearing a bright green hoodie that seemed to pop out at me, and I thought how awesome it was that The Creator created colors out of nothing! I turned my head and there was a middle-aged basketball coach, from the local youth center, speaking into the lives of four of his young players. I thought about the example Jesus set when he shared so many meals with his disciples and even gave the invitation to share a meal with anyone willing to open the door and let Him in. Finaly, my eyes met Hudson’s. His big blue eyes reflected the bright sunlit sky and he smiled a great big baby-toothed smile. My hear melted and I felt such a massive endearing love for him. At that moment, The Father reminded me, “That’s how I feel about you!” I melt His heart! Wow! And he used my youngest son to illustrate the point.
As I sat slightly stunned by all God spoke to me in a sixty second look around the resteraunt, I couldn’t help but think about the words of Isaiah, “The whole earth is filled with His Glory!” And you can find His Glory everywhere you look… even at the Golden Arches.
Christ Following, life
A friend of mine reintroduced this song to me recently and it basically says it all. It’s from 1978 and I believe it carries the same power and passion that it did then. Enjoy!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd9MaBu3gAg]
Christ Following, life
I hear the term “in my life” a lot. We sing praise songs about Jesus being a part of our lives. We ask God to help us with our lives. We want Him in our lives. We say things like “I want more of you in my life.” I was thinking about that yesterday, and something occurred to me…
What about God’s life? I think all the time about Him being a massive part of my life but, could I be a part of His? Maybe that’s what I should be praying, “God, can I be a part of your life? I don’t want You to be someone that I just drag along with me as I journey towards eternity. I want to accompany you on Your journey.”
My desire is to go where He goes and do what He does. I’m happy to be His second fiddle any day. I’ll be His Tonto, His Chewbacca, His Bucky, or His Robin any day if it means I get to hang out with Him and be a part of His life.
“What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises.” – Psalm 84:4
