The Power of a Pine Cone

The longer I share my home with a two year old the more I am beginning to understand what Jesus meant when he said Unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Xander, my little grandson, has the ability to laugh at absolutely nothing and to take pleasure in even the tiniest details of the world around him. He wakes up laughing- ready to dive into a new day filled with wonder and beauty. He is enchanted by the simplest of things: the sound of his cereal popping as the milk is poured, the sight of tiny insignificant sticks strewn all over the lawn, the sound of a sneeze, or the feel of dry oatmeal as he lifts it and watches if fall through his fingers. When we are out walking, it is Xander who spots the bird on the roof, or the cat asleep in the window. He sees every pine cone on the floor and laughs hysterically when the ones we have collected do a dance in the tray of his stroller as we bump up and down the pavement. And it is these little things, these tiny things, that fill him with so much joy and leave me wondering how I became so blind to beauty.
Pause today. Notice the beauty all around. Look into the eyes of a child and wonder at the world together... because when we can look at the world through their eyes, we must surely be seeing a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven.