A Child Reminds Me By, Josh Miranda

It was one of those picturesque Southern California afternoons. The temperature could not have been more than a cool 73 degrees and as close to perfect as could be. This was a day to be outside and there I was in my backyard taking advantage of this beautiful day with my one- year old son. He just loves to be outside! It is all so new to him and with every noise or sight he is overcome with excitement. The squirrel running across the power line, the birds chirping and flying around, the barking dogs. Yet nothing caught his attention like the airplane that flew over us. He just stopped and stared, letting out a “whoa” every so often (at least that’s what it sounded like he said) as he followed the plane with his eyes until it was out of sight. Amused at how thrilled my boy was at the sight of an airplane, I wondered, briefly, why I was no longer impressed by such an awesome sight.

Afterall to get an airplane in flight is no easy feat. In fact, up until the year 1903 people were wondering if human flight was just a fantasy, that is until two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright turned fantasy into reality. That first human flight was 59 seconds long, but it set the foundation for modern aviation as we know it. As fascinating as this is, as wonderous as this invention is and as important as it has become I acknowledge an airplane in the sky about as often as I acknowledge that the sky is blue. I have come to expectthese things which means that I have come to take them for granted. Now I am not trying to beat myself or anyone else up over this, just sharing something that I learned from a one-year old child. They can teach us you know? After all, Jesus says “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it (Mark 10:15, NIV).”

My one year old reminded me: do not neglect the extraordinary of the ordinary things.Not just outward, but inward as well. Even as I type these words, I don’t consider the many muscles and nerves at work to get these fingers moving. I neglect the synergy of my mind and body, which enables me to put my thoughts into words. How often do I stop and stare at my beautiful wife thankful that my eyes see the colors and shades of her hair and make-up, or do I take time to appreciate my ears picking up the sounds of my children’s laughter. All these functions are intricately designed by our unexplainable omnipotent creator and I am under the impression that to show the proper reverence for such things, which like a plane in the sky I take for granted, I must embrace the “little child” within, whom God holds in a place of importance. I must tap into my one-year old self where everything is new, and exciting. Can I challenge you to do the same? In fact, let’s do it together.

If I in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

C.S. Lewis