Don’t Be a Stick in the Mud

Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

Isaiah 43:18-19a

I suspect we would agree that children are better at practicing imagination, awe, and wonder. They do not let their imaginations become stunted by inhibitions. They don’t have enough history to fall back into old habits. Everything is new to children. Each day arrives on their pillow with a healthy dose of expectancy. They let their imaginations run wild, and we, the adults in the room, are giddy in our encouragement of them.

To a point, that is.

Sadly, somewhere on the journey, someone teaches the child to put her imagination in check. “Inappropriate,” the adult in the room says. “Impolite,” the stick in the mud intones. “Illogical,” says the imagine-less bossypants. “Impossible.”

The nail is hammered into the coffin.

Thank God for resurrection.

“Forget the former things,” God urges us. “I’m doing something brand new, here and now! Don’t you see it? It’s right there, in front of you!”

Children don’t have a corner on the wonder market. They do not have a monopoly on imagination. Let’s not miss what God is doing, right here in front of us, simply because we’ve allowed imagination, wonder, and awe to fall by the wayside.

Something to Think About:

What kinds of things did you imagine when you were a child? What do you imagine today?

Something to Do:

Write down some of the things you imagine for your life, for the lives of those you love, for the world. Let your imagination run wild. Then, offer these thoughts up as prayers to God, remembering God’s imagination is even more wonderful than your own.

Prayer:

Lord, help me break free of the limitations I place on you. Give me confidence to imagine something new, even now. Give me the eyes to see the new things you are doing, right here in front of me. Amen.

Explore more at the Theology of Work Project online commentary: Servant at Work