Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Preschool Christians, a narrative of change

Lucas is almost 3 years old. I have learned a lot from Lucas as his nanny for the past year. Mostly, he has taught me about Jesus. After spending 30 hours per week with a child, you begin to see life from a different perspective.

Lucas started pre-school yesterday. He came home, wide-eyed, slightly oversized backpack, lunch pail and coloring pages in hand. His mom reported she was glad he didn't cry when she left his new classroom.
As I "worked" (read, colored and cooked) with Lucas the rest of the afternoon, I discovered a fear, sadness and confusion behind those eyes.

And yet again, I learned how we react to Jesus' love and grace--with completely the wrong mindset.

We often see change as an opportunity, or maybe as a punishment. Getting fired from a job, not getting into graduate school, a friend or family member dying, a broken relationship. But God's perspective sees much farther than our current circumstances, and beyond what our minds can dream up. I am going on this trip to change the world, but I am starting to see that God wants to have the world change me. Change our group. Change our mindset, our expectations, our desires. He wants to take them, shift them, mold and shape them, to look more and more like Jesus.

Praise God, that he is our Father. His children have scared eyes, ambitious eyes, greedy eyes. But God takes our oversized backpack full of hopes, fears, unspoken dreams, and He leads us on an adventure that is greater than any experience we could contrive on our own.
Amen.

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