Beach Math (or "Springing Thoughts" pt. 2)

Talking with Nathan or Lizzie is like looking into a deep spring well and wondering, "where do do these waters come from." The wisdom of a child flows from unseen places. It causes wrinkled adult eyes to take a double glance and wonder at the ripples.

As Nathan and I enjoyed the cool breezes of Huntington beach as we dug into the hot sand, here came one of those streams of wisdom. He looked down at the sand in his hands. Nothing else mattered. His attention fixed upon the flowing sand. Gazing down the length of the beach stretching as far as the eye could see in any direction, Nathan stated, "The sand in the world is more than all the 'things' in this world."

Hum. I slowly repeated it back as a question, "the sand in the world is more than all the 'things' in this world." Pausing I said, "Yeah, I think your math is probably pretty close." There is something a bit eternal, and quite a bit baffling about thinking that type of thought. I am not going to be able to double check it. My wife is the math person. However, from a philosophical or theological perspective there is a vastness to his metaphor.

An old fellow named Abe claimed to have had this conversation with God. It was one of those dreams or experiences that kept happening over and over and over. You may have some dreams that repeat. Anyway, Abe clearly hears God tell him that his children would be of incalculable number . . . more than the sands on all the seashores. Strange dream. Like you and me, even Abe did not buy it. Yet 4,000-6,000 years latter it is getting more and more true. The great news is that anyone and everyone can walk the beach and be one of the billions of billions of people God' calls children.

Princess Dreams (or "Springing Thoughts" pt. 1)

Talking with Nathan or Lizzie is like looking into a deep spring well and wondering, "where do do these waters come from." The wisdom of a child flows from unseen places. It causes wrinkled adult eyes to take a double glance and wonder at the ripples.

A long day in the man made "park" that Walt built makes for tired kids. The little energetic ones and the bigger older ones that have to buy the tickets. This my third venture in what is supposed to be a world of dreams was no less tiring. It seems like man-made parks are fun and entertaining, but they do not have the ability to renew the energy like a natural park with birds and grass and flowers and trees and kids making dreams with their imaginations.

Well, little kids still have the ability to say things that just spring up and make you grin or reflect. Tonight little Lizzie went to bed full of joy. A second day of being a princess in a dream world worked for her. She left with a princess bank, princess crown, and was eager to return home to get her 'wish' or her wand.

She went to sleep with a smile on her face and said, "I have enough dreams for tomorrow."

Life should be like that. Dreams spilling over into a new day. Joy that overflows into the next day. In reality, these dreams will fade. She is just young enough that in time the crown will break, the memories will become fixed photos, and the princess bank will be emptied with pealing paint.

What we dream is what we become. How we live becomes where we live. Who we choose to be today becomes the person we will be for all eternity. So, the dreams and the joy and the hope and the faith I have is placed in something beyond myself in the one who is beyond and behind and within every moment. The joy of the Lord will be my strength.