One of the benefits of having a two year old daughter is how you often get to see the world through her eyes. I love when we are playing outside, and she sees the neighbor's cat, and gets all excited to see the "kitty". Or when she grabs my finger and has me follow her through her little trail in the bushes to "go in, daddy" with her. Or when she hears the airplane flying overhead and looks up to see it, or the bird flying through the air, or the ant on the ground. Well, you get the picture.
I have realized for several years that the occupation I serve in is one where you sometimes see the worst of people. God tells us that we are sinful, and there are times where I am left to deal with the sinfulness of God's people. While there is joy to be found even in those dealings, the prevailing thought and emotion that often comes through such situations tends more toward sadness. It becomes easy to get frustrated with sinful human beings, or upset when they don't respond as you hoped, or even hard on yourself when you realize your own inadequacy for the situation.
Several times recently, though, it has been that joy of seeing life through the eyes of a two year old that has often opened my eyes to discovering joy. I need to see the world through her eyes, because there is so much that God has made that is good, and praiseworthy, and worthy of celebration and devotion. That's a reminder that I often need, and so often, God gives me that reminder in that little girl, even when it's something as simple as a little walk to the stop sign and back.
Where does God open your eyes to discovering joy? I really do think that, if we start looking for it, we'll start to see that He is presenting more joy to us than we would ever expect to find out there.
I have realized for several years that the occupation I serve in is one where you sometimes see the worst of people. God tells us that we are sinful, and there are times where I am left to deal with the sinfulness of God's people. While there is joy to be found even in those dealings, the prevailing thought and emotion that often comes through such situations tends more toward sadness. It becomes easy to get frustrated with sinful human beings, or upset when they don't respond as you hoped, or even hard on yourself when you realize your own inadequacy for the situation.
Several times recently, though, it has been that joy of seeing life through the eyes of a two year old that has often opened my eyes to discovering joy. I need to see the world through her eyes, because there is so much that God has made that is good, and praiseworthy, and worthy of celebration and devotion. That's a reminder that I often need, and so often, God gives me that reminder in that little girl, even when it's something as simple as a little walk to the stop sign and back.
Where does God open your eyes to discovering joy? I really do think that, if we start looking for it, we'll start to see that He is presenting more joy to us than we would ever expect to find out there.
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