Walking through the grocery store recently, my two-year-old son, Rocky just broke out and started dancing to whatever song was in his head…I love that about kids!  I love the willingness that children have to be and do whatever it is that they are feeling and to just enjoy themselves without feeling dumb or foolish or awkward or concerning what other’s might think about them if they do what is in their hearts to do…

I have found myself tapping back into that willingness to embrace and enjoy life like that, as my son continues to teach me things that I had long forgotten or failed to prioritize…

When Rocky started treating freezers in the frozen food aisle like the two sides of a soul train dance off line, I smiled and decided to jump in right behind him…and the two of us made it a full aisle dance party for the fish sticks, klondikes and security camera personnel to enjoy…and you know what…?  It was fun!

Why am I sharing this?  Because, often, I think we become adults and forget that it’s ok to still be US! (whatever that might mean)  We’re told that certain things are “socially unacceptable” or “Politically incorrect” and we are constantly pressured to fall within the guidelines of societal “normalcy”… But I’ve seen the people who “live” that way… I’ve read their books.  I’ve studied their lives…I don’t like them… They’re miserable and miserable to be around… They look down their noses at others who enjoy life and pretend that they are better because somewhere along the way, they “grew up”… (Man, I don’t know who wrote the book on “growing up” but if what is implied by society is what it means to be “grown up”…I think I’m gonna stick to reading Peter Pan…)

He’s not going to be 2 forever. He’s not always going to ask his daddy to dance with him around the living room or in the grocery store or walking down the street.  So, I’m taking every opportunity to make and embrace those moments. I want my son to be the kid who remembers the daddy who didn’t care to look foolish for the payoff of having fun, building his character and establishing the memory!  He’ll have enough pressure on him to be “like everyone else”…I want to encourage him to be himself!  I want to teach him to not be bound by legalisms or doctrinal inconsistencies.  I want him to think for himself and be a man after the heart of God, not the conformities of man… Too many people “Just Exist”, I want to teach him to LIVE!  This adds a whole new dimension to the scripture “Train up a child in the way he should go”…

As I sit here writing, the thought came to me, “I want to teach him what it REALLY means to be a man”… but I’m finding the more that I think about it, the more I am realizing that he is teaching me as much about “being a man” as I would like to teach him…

The Bible in Mark 10:15 states: “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

The statement “kingdom of God” is often also translated, “Gods way of doing things”… I believe that there is supposed to be a freedom in living life and serving God that is usually NOT encouraged in our churches or society!  But just because it’s not taught or encouraged does not mean that it’s not intended for us to walk in…

We so often put God in this “box” of what we think He should be like… And we develop these ideas about what we think God would want us to “look” like.  Usually, those images are “polished” and “professional”…It’s not entirely “our fault” that we think about it that way, it’s what has been modeled for us and even what has been expected of us but I’m not seeing that demonstrated or expressed in what I read in God’s Word…

Last night I sat outside and looked at the stars as I often will do at the end of my day.  I had this thought and wrote it down…

“What I see with my eyes in the night sky is more enormous than I’m capable of comprehending. What levels me is that still, He is mindful of me… I came to an understanding tonight about why the night sky is so impressive to me… The day sky and the sun’s light only allows us to see what is immediately surrounding us in our atmosphere… We are literally blinded by light… But at night I can see beyond our atmosphere and am even more aware of just how incredibly magnificent and omnipotent a creator would have to be to create something so immense! I feel so small… And my “problems” seem so insignificant from this perspective… During the day He is “Lord of the earth” but at night I see what “Lord of the Universe” means… I stand in awe…”

God is so much more than we have given Him credit for in our “God in a box” mentality.  He created the universe, containing innumerable galaxies.  The light that we see from  our NEAREST star  is 4.3 light years away from us…meaning that the light we see today left that star nearly four and a half years ago and traveled 186,000 miles per second to get here …and that is the CLOSEST star to earth!  The Milky Way is believed to be twenty-seven THOUSAND light years long!  Meaning, it would take 27,000 years, traveling at 186,000 miles per second to span it…and this is just one galaxy, OUR GALAXY which contains 200-400 BILLION stars!  And our galaxy pales in comparison to our neighboring Andromeda Galaxy containing at least 1 Trillion stars!

I know, these are ridiculous numbers and information that is mind boggling… But when you consider that every one of those stars contain solar systems and planets and moons like our own, the complexity of the God who created this is more than we can possibly fathom!  And we attempt to process “Him” and His infinite omnipotence with our limited understanding and finite minds, as we put Him in our little “this is God” box…

The God who created all of that, also purposed your existence and created you with your personality and your gifts.  Don’t allow people who “think” they know, to place limits on who you were created to be!  If they were as smart as they think they are, they would realize that they are clueless… They barely understand the aspects of God that He has revealed to us, who could possibly fathom the complexities of what He has not… (I believe that this is why the bible tells us that the angels cry “Holy Holy Holy” around the throne of God… I believe that moment by moment He reveals yet another aspect of “who He is” to them and they are once again, moment by moment floored by the new revelation…)

So, as you live this life that He has given you, enjoy it!  Be the YOU that HE created, not the you that has been dictated… It’s amazing and completely awe inspiring to me that God would create man with the desire and intention of having a relationship with us.  But He did… I can’t even rationalize it beyond what has been revealed in His Word, but it’s got to say something about how He really views us!  We are His heart… He calls us His children!  And although we cannot possibly understand all of His complexities, we do know that He cares for us beyond a “human” understanding of love… and if that is the case, then He appreciates that which makes us unique!  It’s a reflection of an aspect of His DNA in us!

Just like I laugh and appreciate when I see Rocky do something funny or see something about his nature that reflects mine or his mothers or another family member and I see aspects of our family DNA revealed in him…I believe that God has that same appreciation and affinity for us and our individuality… Don’t allow that individuality to be subdued by people who have no authority to be oppressive…You’re God’s Kid FIRST… Be who HE created you to be… and invite Him to be a part of you LIVING!

“Daddy, you wanna dance?” – I thought you’d never ask…