A Virtual Church

Seeing Through the Eyes of a Child

August 7, 2013

Jesus says, “Let the children come to me, for to such as these belongs the Kingdom of Heaven.” I have figured out why he said it. It only took a few hours to see imagination and wonder, delight and curiosity flourish around me in the eyes, voices and faces of the children I was with this week. Such, indeed, is witness of the Kingdom of God. The Boy was the first to bite at the idea of a treasure hunt. “Treasures? Here on the sand at the river? Let’s go look.” And so we did. With buckets in hand, bathing suits and bare feet, we began our search. Oh, the treasures we find when we begin to look around us. We found feathers, worm eaten wood, parts of firecrackers past, empty crab shells, various fish bones, angel wings, and some undistinguishable blobs that we think were clay. Maybe so; maybe not. Soon our buckets were filled. One time I looked down around my own feet to look at the pebbles scattered on the sand. Some were shaped like lima beans, some simple pea rocks. The array of color in the pebbles was astounding. All shades of yellow, brown, tan, white, there was a whole palette of color at my feet. I was walking on a treasure a seven-year-old Boy slowed me down and opened my eyes enough to see. How often have I walked and not seen? At day’s end, the Boy gathered his treasures into a box. He was eager to share them with his family at home. His delight in his find was evident. Treasure found, all valuable in the eyes of the beholder. Life’s disappointments can blind us, make us myopic. Where have I seen you, Lord? Where have I seen the glory of the Lord that shone round about shepherds watching their flocks by night? What happens in growing up that sometimes leaves us jaded, critical, sad? Could it be that we need the pure, unclouded, uncorrupted vision of a child again? I have worked to be a mature adult, ‘cause that is what is required and valued in the world and workplace. But all that gets complicated doesn’t it? What would it be like to take a bucket everywhere we go, to gather and name the treasures that are all around us? Then put them all in a box for someone we love to see. We could carry treasures to cheer the world and proclaim God’s goodness in all creation. All creation sings glory; all creation sings praise. All I have to do is see it with the eyes of a child and claim it as the treasure it is. I am so small when I open my eyes, and simply thankful to be a part of what God claims as good. Thank you, Boy; Thank you, God.

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