Eyes of a child

Have you ever been stopped in your tracks by a lesson from God when you least expected it? Yea, God has a funny way of using the most routine things to shed new light or eyes on a subject we wouldn't have otherwise noticed. Today was one of those days. Allow me to explain...


I had the pleasure of taking the 2 cutest kids in the entire world to the zoo today. These kids love the zoo more than almost anything. They have yearly passes and go to several different zoos within reasonable driving distance all the time. But, you would never know these kids had ever been to a zoo before. Their joy and excitement to go to the zoo is unlike any other, no matter if it's the first time of the season or the 15th time. About halfway through the day, Jesus whispered into my heart, reminding me of His desire for His children to have faith like a child. 


As my trip draws closer, my excitement grows, just like Jake and Verity's excitement grew the first time they ever went to the zoo. I know I'm excited and I'm going with a joy and zeal created only by God, but what He challenged me with was to maintain that joy and passion throughout not only my 6 months in Africa, but in every single step that comes after this trip, including other trips to Africa. No matter how routine the days may seem or how redundant the meals are, I am there for His purpose alone and that allows every single day to be different than the last. I want to allow time for Godly distractions, time to break away from the scheduled route and just follow the Spirit's leading. I want to wake up every morning excited for what's coming and go to bed every night completely in awe of the Creator of the universe. I want to look back at my life and know that I haven't wasted a single second of it by allowing a routine to become mundane and boring. 


Don't get me wrong, routines are not bad and schedules should not all be thrown out the window, I just know in my own life, I am often too busy going through the motions and getting from point A to point B that I miss the simple joys and promptings of the Spirit. I don't want to live like that anymore, especially in Africa. 


Have you, like me, lost the faith and eyes of a child that you once had for the things of Jesus? Do you get annoyed with little distractions instead of see them as blessings? Allow God to use these beautiful children to teach you, like I was taught today, how to see the world again...with the eyes of a child.