Restoring Joy with Rocks

One of the greatest blessings of having children or being with children is experiencing the joy of childhood all over again.  This morning I had the pleasure of spending time with my nephew,  who will soon be ten years old.  We had walked to a park with the girls and while the girls were playing on the swings, my nephew and I discovered that the pea gravel that blanketed the park was a never-ending discovery of fossils and cool rocks.  We were on hands and knees for the next hour, imaginations taking us to long-ago days.

Our excitement grew with each find.  We daydreamed about exploring landscapes more exotic than the local playground and my nephew shared his interest of being an archeologist if he does not become a professional baseball player.  My pockets were weighted down with rocks that we could not bear to leave behind to be ignored and trampled.  It was questionable whom was enjoying the exploration more.  Unwillingly, we had to go back home for the girls were now hungry and confused with Mommy exclaiming over rocks we never took notice of before.

Reclaiming the reality of motherhood, we walked home and made lunch, but my heart was light with the joy of childhood.  Those days of building forts in the woods, pretending to be pioneers, and imagining the possibility of the world's next greatest archeological find being in my backyard are long-gone for me, but they were re-awakened this morning.  It takes a child sometimes for us adults to really behold the intricacies of the world around us that God created for us to behold His Glory.

This morning really has me thinking how, as adults, we so often only allow ourself to be mildly amused with the awesome.  In a world where the computers of six months ago are ancient technology, and the ease of all our needs are within our grasp, it can be challenging to find ourselves in awe of the complexities of our own bodies, our ecosystem, and the treasures in our backyard.  Isn't that the beauty of our children?  The discoveries that are overlooked by the busy, responsible adult are treasured by our youth for good reason.  It is the fuel for their imagination and their potential.  How exciting it is to consider that my nephew's interest in a few rocks at a park could ignite a future archeologist!

I think an unfortunate result of the American way of life is our ability to easily become disinterested with the marvelous when the next big thing comes along, and that spills over in our relationship with a God Who is the same yesterday, today and forever.  But perhaps the struggle is not all that new.  David wrote a Psalm that is regularly used in the Lutheran liturgy that would indicate he struggled with remembering to take joy in the work of God.  In Psalm 51:12 David prays, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation..."  It would do us well to pray this often.

There are times when I am sitting in church and what I hear has been said before or fails to intrigue me, and my mind begins to drift.  Oh for shame that I do not marvel anew at the work of my God!  God's Word is awe-inspiring every time- my disinterest is a chosen state of mind.  Has salvation grown old to you?  I will confess it sadly has to me many times.  I must be reminded that the work God has done in me, in my family, and in my friends is worthy of a joy that is fresh every morning.

Though He is an unchanging God and His Word remains today as it was thousands of years ago, the possibilities of my God- His mercies, His miracles, His wisdom- are new to me every morning.  Take a moment today, tomorrow, for a lifetime, to find joy in the miraculous He is working in you everyday!