Holding On the Childlike Wonder

As I walked along one day, I discovered a lonely, discarded hula hoop placed at the curb. Poor hula hoop! I have no doubt it was once beloved and well played with and kept close. Now it is retired.

I began to think about the favorite toys of my childhood. I remember my own hula hoop. And my coonskin cap. I loved my Jackie Robinson baseball bat. I enjoyed building my model cars and playing with my chemistry set. I don’t recall when any of these disappeared from my life. They just did, except for the bat. One by one I must have lost them or broke them or, ultimately, simply outgrew them. One way or another, they all ended up at the curb of my life, much like the hula hoop I came across on my walk.

Thanks to its popularity of use in weddings, one of the most well-known passages of Christian scripture is found in the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 13. Therein we find these words: “When I was a child I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Things change. We move along the path to maturity. Our life moves from season to season.

But there is a difference between “childish” and “childlike”. There are childish things we should put away. Our understanding of the world and our behavior in it. Our self centeredness and tantrums. But how blessed is our life when we manage to hold on to the childlike qualities of wonder and surprise, of unbridled joy and love, of trust and imagination. These add so much to the journey, no matter how many birthdays we have had.

I’m glad I managed to hang onto that bat.

Peace.