How is it we can complain and wine and whimper about the tough days and hard things life throws at us, then look into the eyes of a laughing one year old and just melt. Faith is constantly reminding me there is something more powerful at work in our lives, something we tend to often forget about and gloss over. We have gotten so used to working hard and getting what we 'deserve' we forget to look around at what we already have and see the beauty and value it posses.
On Tuesday my mom and I took Faith to the zoo for the very first time. Faith has been working hard a mastering her animal sounds and we thought there is simply no better way to reward her than to show her the actual animals.
Our plan was to leave at 9, when the zoo opened, get there a little before 10 then enjoy. Well we got there close to 11 and literally just missed the last spot in the 'lower' parking lot. Oh well, who doesn't need a little trek from your car to the entrance, I mean on top of all the zoo-treading we were about to embark on, it seemed harmless. So for those of you who aren't mothers yet, let me tell you a little something... you kind of become super paranoid about all the crazy 'what ifs' and you begin to play out all those possibilities in your head in case you are stuck in that situation. So as we entered the zoo I immediately thought, okay well security is non-existent so always keep an eye out for strange people who might have guns or bombs and where we can hide and protect Faith accordingly. So far so good.
Well then we start to head deeper into the park (or rather, the zoo) and I begin to look around planning where I would go should say, the tigers or elephant or chimps or gorillas decide to escape and attack on the day we are there.Check. Well, call us crazy we added a nice ride on the monorail to the mix, I mean, why not, if any of the previous occur, we are in a secure location seeing the bomber/gunner is on the monorail at the time. Yet, there is always the 'what if today is the day the faulty part of this system decides to be faulty.' My answer: hang on, say a short prayer, do the best you can and know He has a plan for all this.
Well, it was about that time, 20 minutes into our arrival, I learned a good lesson. I can be the best mother I can possibly be, considering all the ways to protect my child, keep her safe and out of harms way, but I can't keep her from the plans He has for her, and for us. Instead I have to let her laugh, touch a few dirty things,
climb a little higher on the playground, slide one extra time, pick up the yucky dirt, and live life. Because it is in those moments where I to see what He is doing and the joy and love and blessings that flow from those tiny moments are some of the sweetest things on this earth.So for the remainder of the day, I let Faith enjoy the sights and sounds and smells (man, gorilla's stink!!) and I let myself enjoy being her mom and watching her made all the imperfections of this world go away and all the natural beauty shine through. ( I did keep my spy glasses on, I mean, I'm not perfect, I am learning, too).
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