I'm currently reading a book, and no, it isn't the latest (and last) Harry Potter. It's called A Map of the Harbor Islands by J. G. Hayes. One of the things I've learned, or rather re-learned, is to appreciate the things we usually don't notice in life, especially after we've "grown up." Even if it's bugs.
Sometimes what we miss is painfully obvious to a child or to the child-like. Our minds are so full of insignificant crap which we're so preoccupied with that we can't notice what's going on around us. And we miss the lessons that God or, if you would rather, life, is trying to teach us about living.
A few weeks ago I was watching a dad with his little boy walking along the sidewalk. What caught my attention was the father's patience with his young son. The boy was only about 2 years old and was noticing everything. At one point he stopped and squatted down, looking intently at something on the ground. He stayed that way for two or three minutes just watching intently while his father stood patiently keeping an eye on his enraptured son. I thought to myself, "That's one patient man. If it were my kid I'd probably be pulling him along telling him to get a move on."
Finally the little boy stood up.
"What were you looking at," the father asked?
"Bugs," came the reply.
"What are the bugs doing?"
"Helping make a house so they can all live together out of the rain and not get wet."
There are numerous lessons to be found in this snippet of life. Different for each of us, depending on our own needs. I was luckey that the little boy and his father caught my attention and so I witnessed the work of the bugs through his eyes. Left to my own devices I would never have even notieced. I would never have learned that there are really very few things we can do on our own, especially important things. But when we all work together and help we can usually accomplish what needs to be done.
I needed to be reminded of that on that day. My mind was filled with worrying about getting something done by myself.
Sometimes what we miss is painfully obvious to a child or to the child-like. Our minds are so full of insignificant crap which we're so preoccupied with that we can't notice what's going on around us. And we miss the lessons that God or, if you would rather, life, is trying to teach us about living.
A few weeks ago I was watching a dad with his little boy walking along the sidewalk. What caught my attention was the father's patience with his young son. The boy was only about 2 years old and was noticing everything. At one point he stopped and squatted down, looking intently at something on the ground. He stayed that way for two or three minutes just watching intently while his father stood patiently keeping an eye on his enraptured son. I thought to myself, "That's one patient man. If it were my kid I'd probably be pulling him along telling him to get a move on."
Finally the little boy stood up.
"What were you looking at," the father asked?
"Bugs," came the reply.
"What are the bugs doing?"
"Helping make a house so they can all live together out of the rain and not get wet."
There are numerous lessons to be found in this snippet of life. Different for each of us, depending on our own needs. I was luckey that the little boy and his father caught my attention and so I witnessed the work of the bugs through his eyes. Left to my own devices I would never have even notieced. I would never have learned that there are really very few things we can do on our own, especially important things. But when we all work together and help we can usually accomplish what needs to be done.
I needed to be reminded of that on that day. My mind was filled with worrying about getting something done by myself.
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