Man trips and curious explorations

I recently took my five year old grandson on a four day adventure to northern Ohio to visit my parents and garner a truckload of fine maple wood to make bowls. The two of us guys drove 9 hours to reach our destination and carried on a conversation for the entire 9 hour trip.  (Every man should do this at least once in his life, to carry on a conversation for 9 hours with a five year old.  Quite an experience.). Once we arrived at my parents home we went about our work of cutting up several very large maple trees and creating a very large pile of sawdust.  As I wielded the very heavy chainsaw Jake wandered around the woods , poking and prodding, looking for bugs and other misc things.  All the while humming to himself.  Once I finished with the noisy work of the chainsaw, I brought out of storage several of my ancient Tonka trucks I played with as a kid, and set them on the pile of sawdust and relished the chance to watch my grandson play for hours with two trucks and a pile of dust.

The weekend was filled with wonder and exploration, as we discovered Jack in the Pulpits growing in the woods, creepy crawly bugs under every rock, and we were both amazed at the beauty and majesty of the Pileated Woodpecker that would show up at the bird feeder each day.

As the weekend continued, something magical was happening to the both of us.  I was learning to relax and put my list of things to do aside, and begin to take on the curiosity and inquisitiveness of a five year old.  I was beginning to be fascinated again by the creepy crawlies that live under rocks, of just who is Jack in the pulpit, and why do woodpeckers scoot backwards down the tree.  I was beginning to see life through the eyes of a five year old boy.  So full of questions and wonder, of adventure and newness.  It was so refreshing to allow the cares of this world, of being an adult, to fade away, if but for a few hours.

Jesus once said, that unless you become like a child you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)

After a weekend with a five year old , that passage takes on new meaning.  So thanks Jake for teaching Old Grandpa what it means to become like a child. It has really helped in my understanding of faith and living it out in the second act of life.