Recently I had an extended and wonderful time with all five of my grandchildren.  Three of them were in our home in Oak Harbor for almost three weeks, and the other two were in and out frequently during this same time.  I have come to call this time a time of controlled chaos.  I was able to stay in control of emotions for my need for having things in order, and the grandchildren were able to have freedom of action to provide the chaos. 

In the midst of this wonderful and action packed time, I had an insight to how a 2 year old processes new opportunities to explore the possibilities all around them.  Each day (felt like hundreds of times a day) she would try to open drawers, cupboards, closet doors, boxes, back packs, go into rooms set off limits by barriers, put her hands on anything and everything that caught her eye.  She pressed buttons, pulled chords, reached up as high as she could to take things off shelves, and covered every nook and cranny of the house as she did.  The best example of exploration that I have seen in a long time. While she was doing this she was discovering many things.  Sometimes she discovered a new and wonderful and good thing that was waiting for her curious mind to find.  Other times she discovered that she was doing something that us adults determined was harmful for her.   And yet other times she ended up where she wasn't suppose to be.  But even through the corrections, and the many "No, Harmony" she kept right on going.  And thus her days and our days were filled with this behavior.

Then a question occurred to me.  Why is it that as adults we tend not to do this very much.  When was the last time we spent a day exploring the possibilities, trying doors, opening things up, looking into new things, pressing buttons, and trying to get past barriers?  One of the answers that came to me is that we can have a governor in us that say "no, you can't do that" even before we try to see if it will work.  And so we assume we can't, even though God may be waiting for us to know we can.  Young children don't have that in them, they don't assume they can't do what they try to do, they just do it.  They find out through exploration whether or not it will work, whether it is good or bad, and that is how their world grows.  Of course we try our best to set guide lines, to protect them, and to correct them when they get into things they shouldn't be in.  God does the same for us.  But wouldn't we wonder what is wrong with the child if all they did is sit and not try new things?

The inspiration I received from this observation and interaction brought me back praying I can learn to live more in the realms of seeking, asking, knocking, trying, exploring, thinking about "what if?" and other creative endeavors, and becoming like a child in this area, and overcoming my fears of failure and "what if it doesn't work?" mind freezes.   The question is better asked, "What if it does work?"   I believe God would rather have us try things that are creative and new to us and risk failure, than to sit in the relative safety of the known.   This is a call to become child-like in our exploration of God possibility.  And who knows, we may open up a whole new realm of life giving doors that lead to the fulfillment of our hearts desires.  And I might add, this is more likely than not.  But we will never know until we try.  Nothing ventured nothing gained.