Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

When my youngest daughter was preschool age, she had a unique way of describing things.
I was always fascinated by her view of the world.

Whenever we ate dinner in the dining room, instead of our long kitchen table with benches, she loved to see candles on the table.
One night, she just stared at the candle closest to her.
She had such a serious face.

What is it, sweetheart? What’s wrong?
Mommy, the candle is crying.

I looked towards the candle and saw that the wax was dripping down the sides of the taper.
To her, it looked like the candle was crying.
I have never forgotten her words.
To this day, I think about what she said if I see wax dripping down a candle.

She used to love to talk about any picture she was drawing.
She described a person in one of her pictures as having raindrop eyes.
When I looked, I realized she was drawing someone we both knew, who because of their heritage, had beautiful slanted eyes, that to her looked just like a raindrop.

It’s amazing what we hear when we listen.
It’s amazing what children will say.
They tend to notice things that we ignore every day.
They notice things through the eyes of a child.

Candle crying…raindrop eyes.

We have windows in our house that have spectacular views of sunsets.
She would always draw what she saw, picking just the right crayon colors to capture it.
Of course, all artwork went on the refrigerator.
When I commented on the beauty of one particular picture, she said,
Oh, Mommy, that’s not real…it just a paper sunset.

A paper sunset.

Isn’t that what the world offers us…a two dimensional reality?

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

There is total beauty waiting for us.
Perfection. Fullness. Completion.
No more paper sunsets.
The real thing.

I was walking out of the grocery store today as someone was walking in.
I looked at him as we passed each other.
He literally had rose colored glasses on his face.
I did a double take as subtly as I possibly could.

What does the world look like through rose-colored glasses?
We use that expression to mean looking positively at a situation; seeing something better  than it really is.

As Christians, we mean something much different.
As Christians, we look through rose colored glasses…red with His blood.
Seeing things through this lens is vitally important.

Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross, covers us.
He the perfect substitute.
He the perfect atonement.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Our rose colored glasses do not give us a view that looks better than it really is.
They give us Real Life…that IS better.
No more paper sunsets.
Just the real thing…but you have to be a child to see it!

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. (Mark 10:15)

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Happy Birthday to my son, Kevin!
This is your special birthday…the one where your age and the date are the same.
God has given you an incredible mind.
Your perspective on the world…through His lens…is a joy to see.