I Can Only Imagine

Remember being a kid and playing outside?  I feel bad for many kids today, because in some ways, they’ve been robbed of the opportunity to be creative.  Technology creates fancy worlds for them.  They don’t have to really stretch their minds and use their imaginations.  They let people that create code define their fantasies.

Of course, it would be wrong for me to paint an entire generation with the same brush.  I despise it when people lump me into a category, so I won’t do that to them.  Many kids today love outside play and use their imaginations to the fullest.  Technology is not an enemy. It has helped advance the world by leaps and bounds. You can use technology and your imagination at the same time. I think I was just getting sentimental about my good old days.

My early years were spent in the deep country.  We had television, so I didn’t spend all day outside.  My great-grandmother and I had a TV schedule.  We would watch all the soaps on ABC while we tinkered around the house.  In the evenings, we watched the news and, of course, Wheel of Fortune.  So, I had a great mix of outside time and inside entertainment.

Playing outside was a great time to explore new worlds.  I was chef and used dirt, mud, grass, and sticks to create some of my most noteworthy culinary masterpieces.  I was a spy running under the clothes on the clothesline.  I was a reporter on the evening news when describing the new critters I saw that day.  I was fearless and content to let my imagination soar.  I’ve always been a bit extra.

As a child, my time outdoors wasn’t dictated by yard work or the need to exercise.  I wasn’t trying to increase my steps for the day or burn more calories.  Being outside was just an adventure for me.  My walk today made me reminisce on those feelings and challenged me to change my mindset. 

Each time that I get to be outside is really a gift.  A chance to stop and smell my roses.  An opportunity to watch the wind rustle the leaves on the trees.  A time to listen to the birds as they sing to each other.  It’s really an opportunity to see all of the marvelous plants and animals that God spoke into existence.  He used His creative mind to create a world full of wonder.

We’re made in the image of likeness of God.  He’s gifted us with creative minds.  Somewhere along the way, we begin to believe that what we can see in front of us is all that exists.  We don’t dare believe that what we dream in our heads could come to pass.  So, we miss out on moments to experience wonder.  Let your imagination soar and prepare to watch God do a new thing.  If you don’t want to, don’t worry.  I will.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.  #wepreach