There are times in a person life when all things seem to just make sense. Though these times are few, and often last only for short moments they are worth noting, worth writing about, worth remembering. I had one of those moments the other day in Benjamin's favorite time of the day - Bathtime....
There are times that I miss bathtime because I am out for work and it breaks my heart because this kid goes reckless for something he loves and you can see unadulterated joy beaming from his face down into his body which erupts in flailing, kicking, and squealing - and this is before he is even undressed and in the water ... bathtime ... it is so simple ... he goes batty for it, ecstatic at the mention of bathtime, something shifts in that moment where tears and sadness are literally turned upside down for the anticipation of the water and the chance to splish splash (you are now welcome for the cleverness of the picture - athankyou )
Bathtime...a kid in a tub, with water...an inch high...shows me how to live. Smile ear to ear with such consistency that it makes my facial muscles hurt - only taking a break when he finds a way to splash water onto his face - which produces a face that is a little scared and unsure which quickly transitions back to then remember the joy of the water and opportunity ... and to continue on.... splashing, squealing, splashing....and finding new ways to make bigger splashes, to wiggle around in the water to make waves, to kick your feet, to smack your arms, to turn back your head and to laugh.
I sit with my arms draped over the tub wanting to participate, thinking about getting him in bed so I can do some 'necessary' things before the day ends, and every time I find myself in awe of his joy, his abandon to the moment, the water, the newness of each splash - its hard to fathom really I am tempted to tell him that you just splashed just like that 2 seconds prior you don't need to celebrate it like its new and then I realize what I have forgotten... how to celebrate each moment, each experience, each splash as the gift that it is - that you have the ability to move your arms, feel the water, the splash, the waves as they change, kick your feet in the pool, smile, squeal, and flail with anticipation for what might be next and how you can make a bigger splash .... to enjoy the creativity of such a good God in the simpleness of an inch of water, in a man made tub, with no toys, just water.
Benjamin knows how to slow down each day to such a magical moment without even the majesty of nature, yet how fast I can go and miss the joy of each day, each moment, that is filled with the ability to abandon into God's goodness - in a thunderstorm, a lightning strike, a wave, or a shift in the sands, a bird call or flight from the trees, the blooms of the flower, and the smells from the sea, the heat from the sun, and the cool from the breeze, the moon's rise to the sun's set, the waving of the tree limbs, even the sweat from good day's work, the touch of a loved one, and the smile of a child who is all wet...
So I sit challenged by a child of 6 months to enjoy the creativity of such a good God in the simpleness of an inch of water, in a man made tub, with no toys, no TV, no music, no 'means' of entertainment, just water. I am challenged to slow down from the outside of the tub - to be present to my boy in the tub, present to his abandon, his joy, his bathtime, and I am also challenged to get in the tub myself. Challenged to slowdown to the day, the blessings, the thorns and thistles, the good times, the hard times, the sweet times, and the weak times. Challenged to enjoy the goodness that is God, learning that joy can lay in a simple once inch of water which laughs in the face of American entertainment, which laughs in the face of our grown up ingenuity's, genius, and wisdom, which laughs in the face of the world...a world that says more is better, that says excess is success, that says these things are joy....which laughs because I just splashed water on my face flailing with reckless abandon.