Unearthing Treasure One Spoonful at a Time

Photo by Pexels via Pixabay (2016), CC0 Public Domain

Imagine you're holding a treasure map. You follow the dotted line, face the pits and perils, walk the 100 paces past the palm tree and over the hill, and then you see the treasure chest, sitting, open atop the sand.

Wait. Isn't that thing supposed to be buried?

The exciting thing about treasure is getting to unearth it and discover what's inside. It's your discovery.

That's one of the things I love about watching my children grow. They are constantly discovering new things: treasures that I have known for decades, but they are just unearthing.

Recently, when I announced I was making a grocery list, my older son urgently announced, "Momma, you HAVE to buy this cereal I had at Daddy's. It's called Froot Loops. They are all different colors and each color tastes different." I just smiled and nodded, listening to him tell me about a cereal I have known for 30 years (they are all the same flavor, btw). Finally I said, "Kiddo, I'm a Froot Loop eater from way back. I KNOW Froot Loops." I agreed to get some from the grocery store and when I poured him a bowl the next morning I was reminded of how good those little o's are. Man, they are tasty!

The next day I asked my son to share the story with my parents, so they could hear about this "new" cereal he tried. My dad piped in with, "I ate Froot Loops when I was your age," and I realized, I was mistaken in thinking I was the original connoisseur - we are generational Froot Loopers!

Through this discovery upon discovery, I was reminded of how exciting something can be when you experience it through the eyes of a child, even a breakfast cereal.

[tweet "So many things become routine that we forget how much they once excited us -@abbyspirit"]

So many things become routine or expected that we forget how much they once enlivened our senses.

We forget how carefree it is to chase bubbles, how eye-poppingly huge a T-Rex is or how thrilling it is to ride a bike down a steep hill.

I think that's why we love hearing kids talk about God. We get to hear the awe, playfulness, trust and LOVE that they experience as they are discovering Him. And as we listen, we are reminded of the way we felt when things were new in our own faith journey. But here's the amazing thing about this treasure of our faith: we can keep digging! There is always somewhere deeper to go where God has more riches to show and share with us.

So keep listening. Keep showing your children the way. And keep digging!