It’s been years since I rode on a merry-go-round.  It goes round and round and never gets anywhere.  Some of the animals go up and down and some stay in one place during the round and round ride.  You get off the ride and it’s not all that exciting until the about three weeks ago when I was asked to go again.

Nadine and I took our two grand-sons, their parents, Debi and her friend Patty from Chicago (my third adopted daughter), and Carter and his girlfriend Taylor (who goes by Parker) to the Phoenix Zoo at night.  You go to the zoo but you see no animals-at least real animals.  There are millions of lights forming various kinds of animals that blink in various colors around the zoo.  It’s called zoo lights and is a fund-raiser for the zoo for the coming year.

Hot coco was an essential part of the experience along with chicken fingers, french fries, kettle corn, and hot pretzels.  Once filled up with human fuel, we were off to see the trees covered with colorful lights and light shows on the lake.

Just before we were to come to the end of the experience, Brayden (4) saw the merry-go-round and wanted me to go with him.  Like I said, I’m not much into going around and around on an object that has no objective but to go around, but I excitedly said yes and we started standing in line.  Twenty minutes later we got on the merry-go-round and he wanted the rhinoceros which he got and I got on a pre-historic animal that I had not idea what it was.

What happened next was transforming to  me.  I saw a little boy light up the night with his screams of joy and the beaming smile that was beside me.  He screamed with excitement the whole ride and he began to allow me to live in the moment and enjoy an experience that I would have blown off had he not been in my life.

You see it wasn’t the merry-go-round that lit up my spirit that night.  It was a little boy whose screams of joy, beams of excitement, and emersion in the now that caused me to see the ride in a whole new way.  It reminds me what Jesus said that unless you become like a little child you won’t inherit the kingdom of God (Matthew 18:2-4)  God wants us to see His creation through the eyes of a child.

Thank goodness for my grandkids who have opened up my eyes to seeing the world differently.  On this journey eyesight opens up a whole new world to investigate if you allow others to give you the vision.