Last night I was playing with my baby girl Cana. She would run from the other side of the room, and when she got to me, I would hurl her up into the air, catch her, and then set her down so that she could run to the other side of the room and start the process over again. We did this over and over and over until I just couldn’t take it anymore. She on the other hand never got tired of it. Each time she would laugh excitedly and say “I do it again”.
It reminded me of a G.K. Chesterton quote:
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
I was reminded how numb and blind I become to the small wonders around me, brilliant sunrises, great conversations, beautiful smiles, good meals, big hugs, contagious laughter, loyal friends. All of these things I take for granted simply because they can become common place in my life. But I want the appetite of infancy. I want to celebrate life and live grateful for each and every moment. However, there are times I think I’ve sinned and grown old, tired, bitter, anxious and judgmental. I’m blinded to the wonders of God around me.
So what simple, maybe even redundant thing do you need to be thankful for today?