As a youngster, I had a curious fascination with my surroundings - as you can see from the above picture. At times, observing how a single file caravan of hard working ants could be sent into a furry of confusion because a leaf fell across their set path.
The dynamics of a grasshopper as I held it and marveled in its angled back legs, only to open my hands wide enough to watch it take a giant leap into the air. Or chasing a butterfly while taking in the mosaic of colors seen in its wings. It was a simpler time being fascinated with simpler and more beautiful things.
Nowadays, it seems the world has taken on a morbid fascination with the macabre and disturbing. You don't have to look far to see a focus on death, terror, or fear. A perfect example, as it gets closer to Halloween, is the caliber of horror movies being made.
The scarier and more disturbing, the better it seems. Thanks, but I'll pass. I like to be able to sleep at night. Even in our daily news programs, there isn't a whole lot of good news these days. Mail bombs have been an overriding theme on the news, if you tune in, and now that the person who sent them has been apprehended, the investigation begins.
Weeks will be spent dissecting details using the 'why's', 'when's', 'how's', and 'who's' to determine intent within the misdeed. Investigators, police, psychologists and others will give their professional perspective on the actions and mind of the perpetrator. While all the information will be gathered and presented as a welcome sedative to the minds that long to know, I believe there is a deeper part that is being overlooked - the heart.
I was reminded, through one of my devotionals, that it is the heart that is not only the epicenter of each human being, but also at the bulls-eye of villainy. More to the point, one particular devo said, "Society can punish symptoms over and over, but when behavior is our problem, we need to check the state of our heart. "
Not just when it gets to the point of a massacre or bombing. It needs to start when there's anger in our hearts while engaged in a disagreement with a friend or holding onto a lengthy grudge against a family member or co-worker. Is it safe to say that the state of our heart, at that moment, is nurturing something negative?
The devotional went on to say that, "Spiritual reality produces inward morality, which determines outward activity." If our world comes to the point of demanding an absence of God, I struggle to believe that goodness and love can blossom, never mind exist.
I say this having barely come out of my own self destruction, many years ago. If it were not for the saving grace I experienced in meeting God, this blog would not exist. And I would have never stepped into an unconditional love that fully accepted me in my brokenness.
So I guess it's fair to say that I desire to fascinate in the beautiful, simple things of life. To pray continually for the hearts in a state of confusion, hurt and anger - that they would, some way, somehow, be changed by God. For this once deranged heart was changed because nothing in my life was making sense and the darkness I lived in was preparing to swallow me whole.
However, once it was touched by God's love, I knew there was another option and life became incredible and colorful again. Just as it was while being a little girl.
Encouragement for the week:
Sweet girl, our world is scary but there is shelter that awaits every heart. There is a fascination far greater than anything we can fathom. His name is Jesus and He longs to enter each heart, bringing wonder and awe.
If you are a Christian reading this, you know the fascination you encountered when you first met the Lord. How alive and excited you felt for the first time in your life. How everything around you reflected the majesty and beauty of Jesus. Go back to that time and allow that inner flame of wonder and intrigue to be re-ignited.
If you are not a Christian reading this, you can look for Jesus and you will find Him. There is no greater fascination than the one you will experience within an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. You can trust Him to bring you new life, my friend.
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