Maybe a decade ago, I really can’t remember how long it’s been, I went on an all women’s retreat at Serra Retreat Center in Malibu.  The theme of the weekend was “wonder.”  One of the challenges was to see things with new eyes.  Since that weekend, there have been times in my life when I remember to try to see things with new eyes.  It helps having a baby around because all I have to do is look at Zane and try to see things as he sees them.  A month ago or so, Stephen, Zoey, Zane, and I went for a hike at a state park.  Stephen was holding Zane while we walked, and he looked in utter amazement and delight at the towering trees all around us. Remember how everything looked enormous to you as a child? Well, these trees looked enormous to me as an adult (granted a short one, but still), so I can just imagine how they appeared in Zane’s little mind.

We went to the ranch today to pick apples and pears.  Our apple trees didn’t produce as well this year compared to last year.  Nevertheless, there will be plenty of apples to send to school with Zoey, share with neighbors, and a few to can.  And there are several rotten ones that fell on the ground to feed the bears. Nothing will go to waste.

I wonder sometimes how God sees us.  As humans, it’s natural to fall into the pattern of seeing those we know and love as a type–the complainer, the one who can’t be forgiven, the crazy one, the drug addict, the tired one–focusing on the negative.  But sometimes I remember to watch Zane–how he delights in seeing Stephen, Zoey, or me and I think maybe that’s how God sees us.  He sees beyond how others might see us and looks deep into our hearts. I’m trying to do that. I’m not sure why it’s so difficult as we grow up and yet was so easy when we were babies.