The Curiosity and Wonder of a Child

The Curiosity and Wonder of a Child
This post was inspired by a friend who explained how she was off and running, after her baby started walking and was getting into EVERYTHING! Our lives come in stages. The first stage is infancy when that precious newborn can only cry, sleep, eat and provide reasons for diapers – lots of them. At first, he can only detect light and motion and after about a month, he can make eye contact and focus on objects about 12 inches away. But when his full vision comes to be, a whole new world is opened to him. His is the world of curiosity and adventure as he reaches and puts his little hands on everything. In fact, he is so curious that we have to cover our electric sockets because those little fingers want to discover what those holes are all about. Curiosity and wonder are inbred in this little one. Then he starts to walk. This is the sweetest, yet often concerning times for his parents, as my friend shared: “What’s he going to get into next? Oh my goodness – he pulled all the toilet paper off the roll! He's eating the dog's food!” Then he starts to talk and soon is asking questions. Remember those little ones asking “What's that? Why? Why is the sky blue?” “Why does the dog bark?”

He’s curious, inquisitive, wondering AND wandering. Oh, to be filled with curiosity and a sense of wonder and awe again – like those little ones! Don’t you know that is something that God wants for us, as His children, to embrace again? We who have lived several decades know what it is to become busy with life and pressing needs like food, water and shelter so we leave little room for curiosity, being inquisitive and finding wonder. We know what it is to make mistakes, so we become a little gun-shy (cautious) with life, instead of giving our curiosity full reign to being spontaneous to new adventures, asking questions, and seeking new ways of doing things. 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 see the possibilities all around them. Unhindered by the past, they are free to wake up each morning with enthusiasm and delight for what this day holds.

That’s the childlike spirit that God wants for all of us. God doesn’t us to think we are too old, too wounded, too limited, too whatever. Adventure awaits us when we take off the restraints of complacency. May we become curious again. May we seek and find treasures in friends who have knowledge and a wealth of wisdom to share. There are exciting places to go and things to do. Our Father has great plans for us. 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.”

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.”