to be two again

There’s no greater gift than being able to see the world through the eyes of a child. Ask any adult, ask the Bible, ask anyone on the street and they’ll tell you the same. Something happens to us as we grow up that causes us to look at the world through jaded lenses. This isn’t to suggest that as children we look through rose colored glasses, no, as children we perceive the world quite differently. To be like that of a child, we have to understand that children look at everything with wonder and amazement. Everything to them is something new and worth exploring. The endless excitement and joy dies as we transition to adulthood, the innocence of our understanding fades in the wake of our own bitter acceptance of the status quo.

Little by little, we come to understand that pain is a part of life. Suddenly stubbing your toe is breaking a limb or an invasive surgery. Getting your feelings hurt by someone at lunch is now the utter grief that follows the loss of a family member. Over time, we no longer want to look at the world as this gigantic playground where anything can happen. We begin to look at the environment we live in as the place we’ll make our bed in. We see the world full of danger, not adventure. The excitement of the holidays is crippled by the knowledge of the expenses that are paid to make it happen. We race to find out what will take us first, the monetary debt we sustain to educate ourselves or the emotional debt we inherit from forming relationships with those around us. Regardless, to be two again would be the greatest blessing of all. To escape the jaded perceptions we form and once again look at God’s creation as He intended, with excitement and wonder.

We all need to slow down and take a minute. I have a two year old granddaughter and see her light up in amazement at each new thing is a breath of fresh air. Same with my dog--whenever she sees me, no matter how long I’ve been gone, she’s so excited to have me back home. Every day is still a blessing, we have the opportunity to achieve anything, but we’ve lost sight of what it’s like to look at the world like we used to. It’s important to remember that when we slow down, we have the chance to restructure our view for new opportunities.