Through the Eyes of A Child

A different perspective.

It’s good sometimes to see things through the innocent eyes of a child.

I took my 7 year-old son Kal to his first Reds game today.

The Clark Griswold came out in me (“getting there is half the fun”),

so we took the scenic route through the roughest parts of Newport, KY (vintage Pabst Blue Ribbon & Weideman signs on every corner bar,

steel bars over store windows, dirty streets, houses in disrepair…..”roll em up”).

I saw a crumbling 150 year-old brick house painted with a horrid color of blue, separated from the dirty street only by 3 feet of broken sidewalk.

But Kal saw it differently, “Dad, look at that pretty blue house. That’s my favorite color.”

I saw a 77 Buick with a cracked & shredding vinyl top, unmatched paint and tires, and a spare tire sitting in the middle of the road for some unknown reason.

But Kal’s perspective was different once again, “Dad, look at all these old cars…..how cool they are.”

I saw block after block of hopelessness; homes, cars, and streets showing no sign of pride or upkeep, wouldn’t want to drive through it at night or walk through it in the day.

But Kal didn’t see it this way,

“Dad, what’s the name of this town?

These houses look like they might be haunted, and they’re pretty ratchet, but this place is awesome!”

I saw only signs of people struggling through a sad existence.

Kal saw things as being unique, special!

God has placed beauty…..good…..all around us.

When we fail to see it or find it, it may be time to find a different perspective.

He also fills this world with beautiful people; God does not make mistakes.

We can’t simply love the obviously nice, pretty, and desirable people.

Refuse to judge by appearance.

Matthew 5:47 (New Century Version) “And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don’t know God are nice to their friends.”

See things, see people…..through the innocent eyes of a child.

Search for a perspective that matches our Heavenly Father’s.

Hope for the lost depends on this.

Absence of hope only happens when we collectively judge “what someone deserves.”…..when we turn away……fail to love.