As children, the unseen was tangible to us. Our imaginations were so active, our minds were pried open to possibility, and faith was easy. We had imaginary friends we could see, touch, and talk to. We were constantly wrapped up in possibility rather than focused on what we could merely see right in front of us. It is as if, as children, we innately understood there was more going on than what met the eye.
As we grow up we begin to seek proof over possibility. We focus on what we can see, rather than acknowledge the plethora of things that we can’t understand because it’s easier. We like to know and understand things. I guess it is easier to pretend something doesn’t exist, rather than admit that it is beyond our realm of comprehension.
Here in America, there is plenty to divert our attention. We aren’t short on information, or busyness. In fact, its like we keep our brains and bodies in overdrive. But what are we avoiding?
Whether intentionally, or not, we are avoiding out roots. At the risk of sounding a bit like a hippie for a second, we aren’t as close to the earth, or creation as we used to be. We are surrounded by cars and buildings. We forget that we are a part of this world, not just users of it. From ashes to ashes, and dust to dust. We are of the dirt.
I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, “Whoa oaky, what is this junk!?” Hang in there with me for a second. When was the last time you walked barefoot in the grass or the dirt? When was the last time you sat quietly by a body of water, and just listened?
When we take the time to just be still and quiet our minds, when we take time to just be outside, it not only has power over our moods, but our minds, and I think our spirits. When we get away from the hustle and bustle and back to our roots, like we were as children, our hearts are more open to realizing that there is so much more than “this”.
There is something holy and spiritual about getting out of the man-made, and opening our eyes, minds, and hearts back up to what is God-breathed.
Outside of western civilization, there are plenty of cultures who still understand and acknowledge the spiritual world as adults. We see a lot of third-world societies as being so far behind us in terms of advancement, but I am a firm believer that in some areas they far surpass us in understanding; they rest, they commune, they give thanks… In most cases, they also have an understanding of the spiritual world and forces that make us uneasy.
To them it is not a foreign concept they deny and ignore because it can’t be explained by science, it is as much a part of their daily lives as breathing. As children, we learned to ask “why” at everything. But somewhere along the way, we stopped accepting “because I said so” as a response, we wanted real explanations. The Bible is riddled through with stories of spiritual warfare manifest in human flesh. Just because we don’t want to acknowledge something, doesn’t make it stop existing. We aren’t that powerful.
I think part of having “faith like a child” is being willing to accept “because God said so,” as a valid response. When I read Genesis, and I see that God spoke, and creation flourished, I see that when God says so, things happen. It is the most valid response we could ever receive.
Being in the still and quiet of nature, I feel it. Seeing the power and fury of a storm, I believe it. And when I acknowledge that there is a beauty to having faith in something I don’t understand, and I step out in it, I see it.
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