The Wide Eyed Wonder of a Child

I’m still in Austin with my two youngest grandsons and, I’ll admit, I’m holding on to their child-like ways. They still want their Super Brennan and Super Bryson stories, and Bryson still wants to sleep with me and they still pull off some of those imaginary super-hero antics.

I know these days are numbered. Before long, they’ll figure out all that magical stuff is, well, magic. Their older brother, Barrett, was here with the younger brothers at Easter while their Mom and Dad were out of town. He had the responsibility of handling their “usual” early Sunday morning Easter egg hunt before going to church. So, in all innocence, big brother asked Bryson, the youngest, where he’d like him to hide the eggs – “in the front yard or the back?” To Bryson’s utter dismay, he cried “You mean the Easter bunny isn’t real??” Suddenly, the Easter bunny reality and that wide-eyed wonder became teary-eyed disappointment.

Wednesday night, I watched the finale of “America’s Got Talent” and saw two pre-teen girls vie for 1st place. Keep in mind there were extraordinary "adult" talents, but a 12-year old girl who, once-upon-a-time, was shy and awkward, and hid behind her puppets, saw the vision of herself changed and became proficient at her talent of ventriloquism and singing -- so much so that her act won herself $1 million and a show in Las Vegas.

Never have I seen so many gifted children stepping up in their talents and abilities and becoming incredible performers, artists, actors, and musicians as I am today. In fact, last year’s winning act was a young girl who sang and played the fiddle. Those who vote for those kids, realize how extraordinary their talents are at such young ages.

There’s something about children that God wants us to see. We who have lived a few decades know what it is like to have made mistakes and now we tend to be over cautious and leave little room for spontaneity. That’s not the case with children. The future is wide open for them, and they seem to know it. Wide-eyed with wonder, filled with potential, they are ready to try new things and see the possibilities all around them.

Unhindered by the past, they are free to chase after whatever the future holds. That’s the childlike spirit that God wants to give all of us. God doesn’t want any of us to think that we are too old, too wounded, too limited, too whatever. None of us are so bound by our past that God can’t open new doors for us in the future. Our Father has great plans for us. He has a future full of hope laid out for us. Now it’s up to us to run into that future with all the confidence of a little child!

Matthew 18:2-4 “Jesus called a little child to him. He stood the child before the followers. Then he said, “I tell you the truth. You must change and become like little children. If you don’t do this, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child.”

Let's Get STARTED!

Yes, I still love some reality show and watching real people achieve real success because of their God-given abilities, survival skills, ingenuity, creativity and good old hard work. One of those shows is "America's Got Talent". Most impressive this year were the extraordinary young people who competed. They were just normal kids, but they took what they had to a level of remarkable abiities. One of my favorite acts was the magic show provided by a 10-year old boy and his younger sister who performed in ways that boggled the judges and viewers. A 14-year old contortionist had perfected her inate abilities to a performance beyond description. There was a 13-year old stand-up comedian who bowled the crowd over with her hilarious comedy routines. Amongst the many talented adult and young performers, the one who won it it all was a pint-size, 12-year old singer, songwriter and ukulele player, Grace VanderWaal, who stunned judges and viewers alike, singing in a style of her own. She won $1 million and the opportunity to perform in a Las Vegas Show, which, by the way, is already sold out. Can you even imagine? That young girl beat out the likes of years of experienced talents.

Each one of those kids and adults started somewhere. Maybe the kids who were magicians watched their dad, who is a magician, perfect his routines. They caught the desire to do the same. The comedian girl started her routines when her dad was suffering from cancer, and she wanted to make him laugh. The contortionist was self-taught in perfecting her abilities -- she started and didn't stop until she was an incredible talent on the show. Grace was just 4 years old when she started singing. She saw a friend play the ukulele. With her own saved money, she bought herself a ukulele.

All those kids AND adults STARTED......and didn't stop. The most significant decision they made was to START. What is it that we would really like to achieve? Maybe be an accomplished musician? START by taking lessons. An artist? START by buying paints and a canvas. A writer? START by blogging. A doctor? START by going to school. A great cook? To be a great cook....one has to START cooking. Denise Gerrich, my daughter's friend, "sister", assistant, household everything -- didn't cook at all in the beginning of her 22 years with the Wallace Family. But she STARTED....trying new recipes, experimented, practiced, trained, and is now a Master Chef in her own right. My goodness, yesterday, I enjoyed one of her incredible gourmet meals -- Red Thai Curry Chicken. So yummy! She STARTED.

The point in my today's post is to encourage us all to move from Point A to Point B. Point A being the place of "want to" or "I wish I could" to Point B....GET STARTED. That's what I did today here in Frisco, TX. I STARTED my quest to find a home here. I had written out my vision, made plans for when, pondered the location (between Tulsa where my mother-in-law, other family and friends are and Austin where my son and family lives), decided on Frisco Lakes -- a 55+ community like my Tulsa community. Lots of thinking and pondering and looking at properties on the internet. I've been in Point A for quite some time -- but there comes the time to leave Point A and GET STARTED in Point B!!

What are you thinking about accomplishing today? Something as simple as cleaning the house? Get STARTED. It all starts with one step, one pushing the button, one getting up and moving. Let's GET STARTED! On your mark, get set.....GO!