Flashbacks

Isn't it fun when you see something or do something that immediately takes you back to a great time in your life?  I had some of those moments yesterday.  We got a pathetically small amount of snow, but had some ice to accompany it.  We got just enough to make the roads a mess and, come to find out, just enough to make our yard and driveway a sledding heaven!  When Brian suggested taking the girls out to sled I snickered inside.  the Upstate New York girl in me was screaming, "you call that snow?"  You could still see the grass for goodness sake!   Well, Brian was right.  There was just enough ice and snow for perfect conditions.  I wasn't even finished with my Saturday morning coffee before I was looking through the house for something appropriate to wear for this adventure.  I get outside to see Brian walking up out driveway.  (we have a ridiculously LONG driveway)  Brian said he sailed all the way to the road...I thought he meant the driveway..he literally meant the road that cars travel on!  He says, "you wanna try?"  I hesitated.  The 42 year old adult in me knows full well that if the sled tips over at warp speed my body is not going to be the same and I will likely get a mouthful of snow, ice and gravel.  I looked over at my 4 year old and knew that I had no choice.  I was going down.  I hopped on the $5.99 Walmart special sled with Haylee and off we went.  We FLEW down the yard....flew onto the driveway and if I was able to steer the sled we would have continued down the driveway, but instead we met Mr. Fence face to face.  I have to tell you, it didn't matter...it was so fun and such a rush and more reckless abandon than I'd experienced in years.  


For the next hour I wasn't a middle aged mom.  I went right back to my childhood.  I was a little kid that couldn't wait to get to the top of the hill for another crazy trip down.  I grew up in Upstate New York where there wasn't a dusting of snow, there was FEET of snow.  Mountains of snow.  Snow piles that you could dig caves in that went on forever.  Piles of snow to slide down, play king of the mountain on...the possibilities were endless, or so it seemed.  We'd patiently wait for the stream to freeze so we could skate around on the ice.   My sister and i couldn't get enough of the snow.  We'd play until our feet were frozen, bring in our boots and socks and put them as close to the wood stove as we could without catching them on fire and we'd check them every 10 minutes to see if they were dry so we could go back out for more.  It never got old.  It was exciting.  It was fun, and it gave us joy.   You know, we didn't have any fancy toys to play with.  We had all we needed with what surrounded us.


Don't you sometimes wish you could go back and get some of that childhood joy back?  It was so innocent, so pure, and so endless.  We get older and so much of our joy is compromised by fear, or mistrust, or pain that doesn't seem to heal.   We WANT joy, we desire it, but it's like we forget how to make it ours.  


Is it any wonder that Jesus says that we are come to him as little children?  Little children see something that is good and they go to it.  They aren't wondering "what's the catch".  They aren't thinking in the back of their heads, "this is too good to be true".   Little children just love with all they have.  They love with purity and without abandon.  The hearts of our children are not tainted by this world.  


What if WE loved Jesus like a little child.  What if we believed what He says and just loved him and trusted him and served him because we were excited to obey Him with that reckless abandon.  I know that my relationship with Jesus wouldn't be the same.  I watch my daughters and how innocent they are and how excited they get over things.  What if I got excited over Jesus  with that same energy.  Food for thought.