A Child's Eyes

Crazy day. Today I substituted in a class of 17 first-graders. Now, if any of you know me at all, you know that I am completely built to interact with high schoolers, so to sub 7-year-olds is a stretch in itself. But, try taking said 7-year-olds on a field trip.

With 75 other first-graders.

To a farm filled with about 300 other school children.

Now think back to when you were in school and you had a substitute. Uh-huh. Exactly. I see that smile you're getting on you face as you're remembering that your reaction was something along the lines of, "Yes! A sub! We can do whatever we want!" I can't believe they're already this way in 1st grade, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, after much threatening in the classroom about following classroom rules even though I wasn't their "real" teacher, we all bounded onto the bus. And remarkably, with a few exceptions, I didn't have much problem with them all day. Although, wow, are they loud! As much as my ears were ringing from the shrill shrieking of the girls and boys around me, I forced myself to look at their faces and listen in on their conversations. And what I witnessed not only made me laugh, but also brought me a little joy. As we were passing under an overpass on the way to the farm, the little boy in front of me said in a wondrous tone, "Wow! Look at those birds!" You know what kind of birds they were? Pigeons! Flying rats! But he didn't know that. . .he just saw their tinted feathers and supernatural ability to fly.

Here were a few other cute things I heard throughout the day:

"Look! Look! Look! There's my brother's school!"
"Oooh! Ice cream!"
"That's the biggest horse I've ever seen!" (He was huge!)
And my favorite..."Hey! Cool! A Super Target!"

As I listened to the excitement in their voices and saw the awe in their eyes at the sight of such everyday happenings, I started thinking about myself. Doesn't it always come back to me? I wonder if that's a bad thing. Anyway, I asked myself if what Jesus has done and continues to do in my life elicits from me the same type of responses these children were giving. Am I genuinely awed when God moves in my life? Or have I become so used to Him acting on my behalf that I have become jaded?

Over and over again in Scripture, people who encountered the Lord were shocked and amazed by Him and His doings. When Jesus healed a paralytic, the crowd was "filled with awe; and they praised God" (Matt. 9:8). When He raised a widow's son from the dead they were again filled with awe, resulting in praise (Luke 7:16). And because of this more people came to know Jesus.

Are we awed anymore? Are we praising? Are people wanting to know more about Jesus because of our excitement over Him?

Now, I know that most of us will not dance half-naked in the streets rejoicing in God like David did (2 Samuel 6), but it wouldn't hurt to belt out a couple of his psalms, would it?

Girls, let's ask God to open up our eyes and amaze us again. Are you longing for a little bit more passion and excitement in your life? I know I am. And if my zeal brings others to the foot of Jesus, well, hallelujah!

Father, we confess that as we walk farther down the narrow path with you, we start getting used to your everyday miracles. We now ask that you would renew a right spirit in us. One that sees how awesome you are and yet how tender. Amaze us and help us to respond with songs of joy and thankfulness. We love you, amen.