Wonder

"Only wonder can comprehend His incomprehensible power."

- St. Maximus the Confessor

I am so behind on organizing pictures that I have pretty much admitted defeat. Jacob will be four in May and the last picture I developed was from when he was six months old. The one good thing I've come to appreciate about this is that when I get a chance to root through some old digital cards, I discover some beautiful moments that really melt my heart and remind me of how deep my love is for my children.

Jacob has the gift of finding great joy in life. When out in the natural world, he loves to fully immerse himself in everything he can see, touch, taste, and smell. He often literally dives right into the experience with joy just oozing out of him. I absolutely love this about my son.

I am not one of those mothers who expects their children to stay clean when they go outside to play. To me, getting dirty is evidence that you've had a seriously good time. I think that's part of the job description for a child.

I remember when I took that picture of Jacob playing in the stream. I will never forget the sound of him squealing for joy as he jumped and splashed around. A man was walking past us while this was happening and said, "You're a good mom. My mom never would have let me do that." My thought is, why not? How sad it is that we squelch children's innate desire to have fun in the natural world just because we don't want them to get wet or dirty. If it's not too cold, I say, let them jump in the stream! Let them get wet! Just bring along an extra change of clothing...

If only we, too, could experience the wonder of God's creation through the senses of a child. Perhaps this would instill in us a reverence and love for creation that would inspire us to do something to bandage the wounds we've inflicted upon it. Maybe we all need to dive right into the stream ourselves more often... and just take along a dry change of clothing :-)