The "oohs" and "aahs" of life

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges of life is to keep the thrill and excitement of everyday living fresh and new. I continue to be amazed at the lessons God seems to be teaching me here in Korea. He teaches me through the eyes and thoughts of my students. When I am with them I realize how I have let myself get old; old in perspective and old in attitude. Many times when I am with Phuong, or my other students, I think back and remember when....

The picture above is one Phuong took on a bus while coming out of a famous park in Asan. The bus was empty except for the three of us. Phuong was like a child in a candy store. I had given her my camera and she sat on the bus taking breathtaking pictures of the foliage. At one point I told her to look out the back window. Since we were sitting up front she ran to the back, jumped up on the seats taking this beautiful picture, and many more. All the way to the back of the bus she kept saying, "Ooh!" and "Wow!" I told Bonnie that moment was worth the field trip with her.

Remember when you saw your first fall leaves arrayed in red, yellow and orange? Phuong has no fall colors in the southern part of Vietnam so this day was a real treat for her. While in the park she wanted pictures of all the trees! Her smile and laughter brought new joy to our hearts. I kept asking God to make me a kid again--not in body, but in perspective. I found myself praying that I would see the world like she does--exciting, beautiful, breathtaking! I want to look at my family and "Ooh" and "Aah!" in ecstasy. I want to worship in breathtaking ways and "Ooh!" and "Aah!" at the grace of God that gives me life and redemption. I spoke to a group of English teachers the other day and asked, "Do you remember the first time you encountered grace in your life?" Remember when....

I know the scripture that urges us to grow up and become mature, "put away childish things!" But somehow I feel Paul was speaking of something different than how we look at the world and opportunities around us. In one picture of Phuong she looks like a grown-up woman walking towards me--it is my favorite picture of her (I took it last week on campus). Her boyfriend in Vietnam agrees with me that she looks like a woman in that picture. In other poses she looks like a child. She even agrees. I urged her not to grow up, completely. I hope she will always keep the smile and laughter of a youth on a field trip in the park. I hope she never walks past a yellow tree without looking up and "Oohing" at its beauty. I hope she never gets so old in mind that she fails to appreciate the everyday pleasures and joys of life that are all around her.

I came home last night and held Bonnie's hand in a youthful way--whatever that is! Do you remember the thrill the first time you held your spouse's hand? (My knees grew weak, and nothing else was happening in the world at that moment. Remember?) I became younger yesterday! My students show me again and again the thrills of life and it is great! Today we go see another of my students in a worship-dance performance. Sarah is busy translating the song for us so we understand it. She seems so excited we are coming to DaeJeon to see her and have dinner with her afterwards. She is full of life and adventure. It should be fun. I will get younger again as we share together the joy and laughter of life. "Oh!", you may ask, "do I believe in dancing in church?" You bet I do! I believe in dancing through life, and that includes especially worship! If I can't dance in joy before my Redeemer, who can I dance to? Even the trees dress up in festive colors to clap their hands and dance in the wind before their Creator as we humans walk through the park "Oohing!" and "Aahing!" in sheer ecstasy!