In this fast paced life, we often miss the small things of life and become oblivious to God’s beauty around us.  It takes a grandchild to open our eyes sometimes and forces us to slow down.

This morning was one of those times for me and we had just a day in Denver to see our third grandson and take him for a walk.  The walk took us into Cherry Hills Village with beautiful trees, horse barns and horses, and grass trails that meandered through the tree lined trails.  It was during our walk that we came upon a garter snake pictured below.  It took about 3 minutes to cross the trail we were on as Greyson, a 22 month old, stared at the event.

He was enamored by the snake and I became the same as well.  I was seeing God’s creation through the eyes of my grandson.  Who says that a child can’t teach an adult a new trick of slowing down and smelling the roses, or in this case observing a garter snake slither through the spikes of grass and leaves.

It reminds me of a passage in the New Testament in Matthew 18:3 where Jesus is speaking  about being reborn.  He says that unless you become like a little child you won’t enter the kingdom of God.  Children have a simple faith and see the world for what it is and how God created it.  Their minds aren’t cluttered and tainted by the culture of this world.  They see something and gaze on its beauty.  That’s it.  Seeing life through a child’s eyes causes us to slow down and see the snake.

On this journey there will be many that come across our path to teach us something about God and His creation.  Be aware that that person may be someone you’re least likely to think of learning from.