Bubbles, so many bubbles. They are floating aimlessly into the evening sky, holding onto their short lives with all they can muster until they can’t hold on to existence any longer. They are being chased joyfully by their little maker, and they float up and up and up as she runs with her bubble toy on full blast. She is watched closely by her father, who she hands her toy to every once in a while so she has the freedom to catch as many bubbles as her tiny hands can reach. From my perch on the couch inside my neighbors’ house across the street, I feel like I’m watching a movie. The simple joy that she is so effortlessly exuding unknowingly sneaks a smile onto my own face. It’s the kind of joy that is contagious, even at a distance.

Brace yourself, because to some of you this next part might sound a little cheesy. As I watch this scene play out on my driveway, it’s hard not to wonder if this is the kind of relationship the Lord envisions with His children. With me. A protective and loving Father, watching as I find and experience the joy that He has given me. He grins with one of those big, toothy smiles when I realize (again and again) that complete surrender to Him gives me the freedom to chase after all of His blessings with all of my being.

I know it might sound silly, but my favorite lessons from God are when He speaks to me through those little moments. He knows that I am a visual learner, and the truths that He wants to teach me will stick the most when He tangibly shows them to me.

When I was a freshman in college, I used to joke that my favorite bible verse was Matthew 18:3 – “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.” In that season of life 5 years ago I was still wearing bows and watching animated movies on a regular basis. I was frequently referred to as a “5-year-old at heart” and I did everything I could to avoid growing up. I loved to use this verse as my excuse to be a child forever – you can’t argue with God’s Word, right? There’s nothing wrong with embracing the inner child, but I had other intentions.The little thread of truth hidden in this joke of mine gave me a reason to stay on the surface, embrace the parts of being a Christian that are easy, and run from any part of Him that were too challenging to face.

Flash forward a few years and a simple sermon by my college pastor brought me face-to-face with my ignorance when he talked about the difference between a childish faith and a child-like faith. His words sent chills of conviction down my spine as he talked about the dangers of worshipping one part of God instead of all of God, focusing on the feel-good and avoiding the truths that are much harder to come to terms with. My change of perspective led to me letting go of my contentment with the comfortable truths I chose to pursue, and brought me into a whole new season of wrestling with the hard parts of His Word and learning about theology and listening to people talk about concepts that I could barely wrap my mind around.

It’s funny (and ironic) how our good intentions can get so twisted when we’re not consistently re-centering them on the Lord. My original purpose of pursuing His truth soon became less about Him and more about me. I wanted to learn and retain as much as I could, and when simply enjoying His presence was no longer enough, my pursuit of knowledge lost its purpose.

In this season, the Lord has been bringing me back to His simple truths. He knows me well enough to know that right now, I desperately need them. I desperately need to be reminded of how much I do not know compared to how much there is to know – of Him, and His Word, and His Creation. For a girl who loves to learn, this lesson is hard for me to accept. I so badly want to reach a point of full understanding, and it has taken me weeks (okay, probably months) to come to terms with the truth that until the day I walk through those gates of Heaven, I will never fully know Him. I will never fully understand His ways. I won’t be able to comprehend why He gives and why He takes away, why He ordains both good and evil, why He saves those who He chooses to save and condemns those who He chooses to condemn. It is my worldly desire for control and power that makes these truths so hard to live with. I want to do things on my own, and even in my rebellion He is showing me how impossible that is. Apart from Him, I can do nothing.

I am praying today that His simple truths are proclaimed loudly in the depths of my heart. I am praying that He brings me back to a state of contentment in the idea of an “unknown” that cannot be fully known. I am praying that He will gradually make it easier for me to be okay with sitting at His feet and surrendering all that I want to be for all that He is. I used to hide in the safety of a childish faith – today, I am praying that by His grace I can rest in the child-like faith that He is asking of me.

And if you happen to be reading this, I pray that He weaves these truths into your heart today too.

Happy Sunday, friends.