Hot summer days remind me of my childhood.

Freshly cut grass and popsicles and bare feet. The sweet smell of my daddy’s roses. Corn on the cob, raspberries, and drippy peaches. The treasure of freedom under miles of sky.

Every day a gift and hours of empty to fill with wonder.

I don’t remember being bothered by heat or bugs or worry.

Just a breathing, slow and easy.

My grandson is 16 months old, and his world is opening. Filling up with words and experiences and learning. We gather objects on our walks together–leaves and sticks and wild flowers, and he holds them in his little hands with joy.

His moments filled with delightful discovery.

He doesn’t know to be afraid of cars or bees or deep water.

Sometimes I want to be a child again.

I’ve been thinking about simplicity of faith. How sometimes we “know” too much to really believe. Experience and emotion become so noisy they drown out trust.

The only knowing that really helps is the knowing of God.

And trusting Him like a child.

Unafraid with open hands. Saying “Show me!” and believing that it will be good and right.  Believing that He is bigger and stronger than all the real we have known.

Bigger than our brokenness and the heart-trembling fear of what might be.

He gives more than mere sustaining grace. More than just the ability to hold on to the end.

He gives good gifts. The softening of our hearts and the renewing of our minds. The strengthening of our souls. The hope-filled expectation of our future.

Wonder at the beauty we see all around us.

A deep and easy breathing with drops of mercy falling all around.

And the capacity to appreciate the simple things we hold in our hands.

With faith. Like a child.

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-4

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. Mark 10:15

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6