Oxygen...

Sunday evening, as my family and I drove to church, our four year old asked her Daddy, "Why are there trees in the world?" My husband went on to explain the real reason there are trees. Wow! I thought. I would have just said "so the animals have a place to live" or "so we can have shade" just to avoid an endless exchange after a long day... way to go Honey! That's why I love him! She listened carefully as he explained that people breathe in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide. Trees, in return, breathe in the carbon dioxide and breathe out new oxygen. That way we don't run out of air to breathe. (Simple.) She had that look on her face- the blank stare that makes you wonder if it's going in one ear and out the other. We arrived at church and went inside, checked the kids in and found our seats.

Two hours later, my hubs and I had almost forgotten about the oxygen lecture. We picked up the kids from the nursery and headed to the car, calling after our daughter to slow down and stay with us, as usual. When we arrived at the car, she ran over to the nearest tree and started blowing on it- then she took a deep breath. "What is she doing??" I asked my husband. He looked over and we both realized that she was breathing! She had leaned close to the tree to blow her carbon dioxide onto it and then took a deep breath to receive its new oxygen! It was hilarious and cute and smart and silly and just downright adorable!

I love how literally our children perceive the world. It's all black and white for them. There is no grey. They are excited about everything and want to experience it all. The funny thing is that we had just been learning in church that evening about our Source of Life- Jesus. About how we need to lean into Him and stay connected to Him to enjoy the life and freedom He came to give us. Just like how my daughter leaned into the tree (her source of oxygen).

The Kingdom of God is like... a child who leaned close to a tree to take a breath. There was oxygen all around her, so she could have breathed at any place in the parking lot, but she chose to focus on, and lean in toward the source of that oxygen with childlike faith.