Animal Crackers & Gold Fish

I live with several small children in my home, who often refer to me as their older sister. I watch them play with each other and the friends they have over, and observe how they practically pounce on any visitor, no matter the age, who comes in the front door. "Do you want to play with us?" they chime. When they get in a fight or one of them gets hurt, tears fall, apologies are exchanged, and in mere moments laughter and happiness resumes.

Some times I envy how simple their lives are and I can't help but think, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could go back in time, and see through the eyes of our childhood? To see the dandelions as a royal garden, a pile of empty boxes as a great fortress, and every person we meet, our newest best friend. Children have an innocence that young adults often strive to destroy from with in themselves, and grown ups often forget they ever had. But what if we could go back? Back to when our hardest decision was picking out a crayon color, or deciding if we wanted animal crackers or gold fish for our daily snack. Back to when the world was at our feet, and we had all the love in the world to give.

Unfortunately, we'll never be able to go back. But that doesn't stop us from going forward with the same light in our eyes we used to carry so easily. We all have to grow older, look for jobs, pay the bills, and make choices that would have boggled our younger minds, but that doesn't stop us from finding the joy in the little things. It's so easy to get wrapped up in our crazy lives we often miss the little things that are most precious. It takes effort to remember to stop and smell the flowers. It can be very difficult befriending a rude co-worker. Sure you don't have to smell the flowers, watch a sunset, or make a new friend, but wouldn't it make life so much more enjoyable? I know that'd I'd rather go to work with a friend then with an enemy. The choice lies with in me. Will I view the world with the loving eyes of a child, or will I look at it through the bitter eyes of someone who already has too much to do? It truly is a choice as simple as animal crackers or gold fish.

Eat Your Veggies First

Why does it seem that just as life offers a moment of joy, we are suddenly bombarded with struggles? A failed exam, a flat tire, a sleepless night, or loneliness; simple things that add up to so much more. Especially if those little things are accompanied by the larger trials in life, such as a money crisis, illness, or loss of a loved one. Why must these things happen to us?

There's this song I know, called "Stones in a River." The name of the artist escapes me at the moment, but the lyrics are another thing entirely. "Like stones in a river we are tossed and turned when the current moves so strong. Like stones in a living water over time are shaped until the edges are gone." In other words, the struggles we face in life are what make us who we are.

I have yet to meet anyone who actually enjoys going through a trial, but how many of us actually ENJOYED eating nasty vegetables as a kid? Perhaps it's not the perfect analogy, but the concept is very much the same. I'd eat a cookie over a carrot any day of the week when I was little. Yet my parents insisted that I swallow my pride, and my spinach before I could have a single taste of something sweet. Now days I sometimes find myself on my knees asking the Lord, "Please, can't I just have the good stuff?" Of course, I still end up with a metaphorical plate of spinach. There are several things I could do with that spinach. I could complain about it, or throw a temper-tantrum and cry, "Why don't I ever get what I want?!" Or I could swallow my pride, and my spinach like a good little girl, and keep an eye out for my next treat.

Trials aren't amazing and wonderful. They aren't usually a piece of cake, and they're certainly not something I look forward to. If they were they wouldn't be called trials. But perhaps they're better for me than I realize. As Kelly Clarkson said, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller..." or as my parents said when I was a kid, "Eat your veggies first." I may not have known WHY I had to eat that nasty plate of spinach, but looking back now, its much easier to see how it helped me grow.

Always Have a Flashlight

Today was just like any ordinary day, in any ordinary life. I got up, got ready for the day, and went to a regular old job. When I came home, I ate food, read a bit of Victor Hugo's, "Les Mierables," and hopped online to check facebook. Like I said, pretty ordinary.

But I've been thinking lately, what defines ordinary? According to Dictionary.com, ordinary is defined as something of, "no special quality or interest." Now what I want to know is who's job is it to decide that something is of, "no special quality or interest?" Who decided that was even possible? If you ask me, nothing and no one is truly ordinary. 

Take a cliff for example. There are so, so many mountains, and cliffs, plateaus, and buttes in this world that few people give them much thought, "Oh look... another cliff....." (unless of course you've never seen a cliff before). But (assuming you have seen cliffs) take a moment, look at one cliff and think, "There's not a single cliff in the world that looks exactly like this one." It is slightly silly (let's be honest) but at the same time, rather awe inspiring. By that one thought, you have taken a seemingly ordinary object, and turned it into something extraordinary.

I suppose what it all boils down to is perspective. Anything can be dull if looked at in poor lighting. All you have to do is shine a light on it. In the right lighting something plain will transform into a thing of sheer beauty, right before your eyes. So keep your eyes open, and always have a flashlight :)