DiScoveRy

Do you remember seeing the world through your first born’s eyes? Do you remember seeing the wonder in their eyes? Do you remember the excitement they expressed when they discovered something new to them?


I used to say that I should have named Erin, “Rose” from the Scarlett Letter. It has nothing to do with the character of her mother, but rather, the character description of Rose herself. Rose could see right to the heart of a matter, and she would say things that would prick her mother’s heart and conscience. Rose was a quirky little person and made her own discoveries along the way. Erin was a lot like that as a toddler and young child. I remember when she would discover something new, she was so expressive. (This should have been my clue that she would be theatrical, but I was naïve.) As a baby I could put a new toy in front of her and show her how it worked, and her eye brows would go up in perfect arches and her mouth would purse into a perfect, small “o.” Her chubby little hands with the dimpled knuckles would clap, and her roly-poly legs would bump up and down on the floor. I would watch where her eyes to see what caught her fancy on the new toy, and she would laugh a hardy laugh. I loved exposing her to new things, new foods, new sounds. She was just so much fun.

Pearce, on the other hand, is a very different child. He isn’t happy just looking at a new thing. NNNNOOOOOO!!!!! I would put a new toy in front of him as a baby or as a toddler and his dark eyes would bore a whole into it as I showed him what the toy did. He didn’t squeal with excitement. He didn’t even necessarily try to use the toy as I had showed him. Pearce was more interested in taking it apart or ramming it into another object making sounds for it as it was forced into the collision. I remember putting a couple of Erin’s baby dolls in front of Pearce when he was just sitting up. Before I could get up or do anything, he was making car sounds and smashing them together. (I didn’t teach him that.) When he got older and I knew he wouldn’t put things in his mouth, we started buying him little cars with tires and parts. It wasn’t long till all the tires were off the rims; the doors were disconnected; and other pieces would be missing.

I was reminded of these experiences when I was reading Genesis 2. God was bringing the animals before Adam to be named. Keep in mind, Adam had just been created. He had no knowledge or had experiences from the zoo to have seen these animals before. I imagine it brought God great joy to see Adam’s face as each animal was brought to him to name. Was Adam like Erin – all wide-eyed, expressing his awe in ooohs? Was he like Pearce running his hands over the face of the animal, lifting it’s wing or leg, pulling the animal’s tail, inspecting in its mouth? I wonder if God laughed. I know I used to laugh when my kids were exploring and learning about their environment. It gave me such joy.

I hope God gets pleasure seeing my face when I discover something about Him, His Word or His Creation. How often do you discover something new in God’s Word? Do you His love letter to you as if it was your first time, or do you read it like, “This is the story of Creation; I’ve heard it a hundred times before.”

My prayer is that you will be revived in your study of the Bible and that you will read it as if it was for the first time. I pray that you read the Bible and put yourself in the shoes of one who is in the story or maybe from God’s perspective as our Heaven Parent. The Bible is as fresh and relevant today as the day it was written. It’s the people who read who have gotten stale and hard-hearted. Just like God breathed life into Adam, I pray that you will accept God’s breath of life into your relationship with Him.