I’m not gonna lie… Sometimes I miss being a little kid.
Ok, I will admit—I am still clinging to some of my childish ways, like getting really excited to go out for ice cream (although now I prefer frozen yogurt) or enjoying a good Disney movie (most recent favorite: Tangled.) But as I returned home to Kansas for a visit, my little dog Justus reminded me of childhood aspect that we should all hold onto.
This was Justus’ first road trip out of state… we covered six states during our 15 hour drive. After conquering about 12 hours of our journey the first day, we stopped in Springfield, Missouri. I had planned ahead a booked a pet-friendly hotel so I didn’t have to deal with the stresses of smuggling a tiny dog into my room and keeping him quiet. When we arrived to our room, I turned Justus loose… and watched.
He went bonkers. Not “destroy-everything-in-sight” bonkers, but more like “oh-my-goodness-I’m-out-of-the-car-and-experiencing-something-new!” bonkers. He was leaping and rolling and running and sniff, sniff, sniffing, leaving no corner of the room untouched. Justus was so overwhelmed and excited for all of the new discoveries!
The same thing happened when we arrived at my parent’s house the following day (and the pattern continues as I write.) He has sniffed out (and rolled in) a variety of new things, which included meeting 14 chickens, looking at roosters through a crack in the trailer door, trying to be a tough dog by intimidating our small herd of cattle, and running like a wild farm dog with our three cattle dogs and the red-bone coon dog puppy Cletus. (Note: I did NOT pick that dog’s name. Ha.)
Justus has a spirit of discovery. Children have a similar spirit of discovery, which starts the moment they are born. Little by little, babies discover new things: How their hands work, that mommy makes funny faces, how to walk, what the word NO means, the list goes on and on… This whole reflection made me think: Do I still have a spirit of discovery?
Even as we grow up and mature, physically and spiritually, we can hold onto our precious spirit of discovery. God desires us to seek Him out—the more we do, the more we can discover about Him. My master’s degree studies have aided me in discovering new little tidbits about God and Christianity. Almost every time I open the Bible, I discover something new, primarily because God reveals it to me. Little discoveries are lurking around every corner!
Holding onto the spirit of discovery doesn’t automatically happen. We have to intentionally seek out new experiences, whether it is meeting someone new, doing a new Bible study or traveling to a new location. Do you still have a spirit of discovery? What makes your heart excited? Go after it! Discover!
I personally look forward to the new discovery opportunities that God allows me to experience every day. With prayer and a willing heart, we can all hold onto that child-like faith and spirit of discovery!
Loving life’s surprises,
SGK
“Those who discover these words live, really live; body and soul, they’re bursting with health.” –Proverbs 4:22 (MSG)
