In his eyes

This post is for all those who cannot sleep. Who wander about the darkness in search of that which is detained from them.

While the world rests, having vivid adventures in far off places, I sit awake and ponder my reality. Why the natural order of things is to rise during the time when the sun comes up and fall when paths end has been met. We are not a celestial body, a giant mass of fire hovering in space. And yet we are grounded in our beliefs. It is how we were raised. For most, the body begins to tire with each closing of the day. Mine, on the other hand, will generally spring forth with curiosity; questions that still rest in the nether regions of my mind that remained patiently unanswered in a given days time.

At any given time, I find myself in more than one place. Physically, I understand that I cannot leave my flesh and yet I yearn for more. While I saunter through this world each day allowing my thoughts to drift elsewhere. Many times my imagination will be sparked by something that I witness around me or a clever statement made by another. Whichever the case, I find myself always searching through the forgotten depths of life. Things most will overlook. Discarded ideas, once responsible for causing headaches or seeming too pointless to pursue, soon create a wondrous playground for the child trapped within. There really is no purpose to this, merely a sense of satisfied curiosity. Many answers that I formulate wouldn't even be considered logical by most but this is the recesses in which I escape. The silly thoughts of children are not pushed away or cast out because they are immature. We do not judge them for their feelings on life or their perceptions of the world they are just beginning to discover. Hence, my inner sanctum is based in this respect. In honor of the innocence and curiosity that seems to cripple and wither with age. During these times of thought, I find myself asking unrestricted questions, many of which share two common roots: What if? and Why?

What if: What if caterpillars had eating disorders?
Answer from Chelsea Greer and Tom (Tom) Mathias: If they ate too little, then they would be scrawny and pathetic; on the other hand, if they at too much they would not be able to fly at all. If they were to large, they may even consider taking up rolling as a means of travel (Their name would then of course have to be changed to a butter-roll *badum dum pssh*...not the easiest drum sound effect to sound out-forgive me, not the best joke either...).

What if: Will the Angel's win the pennant?
Answered by God when Roger Bomman (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) prayed to him one night after being dropped off at an orphanage style live-in. "God, if there is a God..." was the introduction to his prayer that night and a full batting season later, he was reunited with his father.

I truly admire how there are no "stupid" questions in his eyes. It's so easy to fall back and keep silent due to the oppressive nature of a politically correct society. Everything must be of utmost eloquence and we mustn't forget to spell check! If we only realized how feeble our attempts at perfection were, we would probably save ourselves much of the grief and stress that is plaguing our culture today. Maturity is forced upon us at a young age and it sometimes seems as though the benchmark is rising with each passing year.
My friend, Brian, and I were strolling through a Christian Book store just the other day and noticed a mother and her two sons near the back. As Brian headed towards the front of the store to retrieve a book that had caught his gaze, I pressed on in mild curiosity. I was intrigued by the children more so than the mother, partially due to the fact that I had only entered such a store once I reached the ripe age of 13, with my grandmother no less. I could not judge their maturity but they looked to be around the age of 9. These figures were of little importance at the time. All I wanted to know was their take on the current surroundings. How did they view this spiritual store? What did they see in it all?
My question was soon answered by shouts for jubilee from the back as the oldest, or at least taller of the two, held out an action figure. It was a Jesus collectible(...yes Steve, the same one we discussed). He asked his mother if he could have the doll, causing his brother to join in the chant. An adamant "NO" could be heard coming from even farther back, hidden behind the horizontal isles. Their begging persisted and then the woman uttered a phrase in sheer force of will that I didn't know how to take at the time. "Jesus is watching you, put the toy down!" and she quickly snatch the figure from her son's hand, replacing it with a book.
How can we do that to children. Why must we shatter their inspiration in something so pure? I know that we are to respect our parents, but enforcing the adult's will with a very stern use of "Jesus" somehow didn't seem like the appropriate way to use his name. I've heard the term "I'm going to instill the fear of God in you" and the phrase echoing then throughout the store was nothing new to my ears, yet both felt as though they were being misused. The bible tells us that if we love the lord, then we will fear him and keep his commandments. I can understand teaching a child not to steal for we are commanded against that too, but can one really justify scorning a kid and using the lord's name in the same sentence, let alone continuous breath? God deserves to be feared but his name should not be used to terrify young ones as though he were an unapproachable omnipresent force looming above with watchful eye, smiting staff at hand.

A few scriptures popped into my head as if a miniature light bulb had just turned on:
Proverbs 22:6 counsels us to " Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
Ecclesiastes 12:13 in reverence to the Lord: "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."
Finally to sum everything up, you can read the entire chapter of Deuteronomy 11 if you'd like, but here are some key excerpts:
Duet. 11:1 "Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. " and continuing in verse 18-21: 18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth."
God is undoubtedly the most powerful presence in all that exists. He created us and therefore we do owe him our servitude. It's the least we can do. After all, he is the reason we are permitted to take even one more breath. As parents, well I am not one yet but nevertheless, parents are to instruct their kids in the right paths as well as in the right manner. We are always looking to give children "a better life than we had," but along the way, too many fences can simply hinder them from being who they are...kids. Their innocence is the most precious thing in the lord's eyes.

It's actually around 4:35am-ish but these were the lingering thoughts floating in my head. I may turn in and call it a...morning. Well, anyway, I wish everyone a fair nights rest. G'night.