A Lesson on Childlike Faith

Have you ever had a moment (or two) when, as an adult, you got to revisit a place that was a massive part of your childhood, and it wasn't like you remembered it?

I've had more than a few of those moments, but I  recently had one on my summer road trip that left me feeling raw and emotional.  

I was driving north to Denver from southern Colorado and passed through my former hometown of Colorado Springs. 

On a whim, I decided to detour through the quaint town of Manitou Springs and visit Ghost Town, a tourist attraction my grandmother used to take me to on occasion when I was a little kid. 

As I drove down the familiar road to my destination, I was flooded with memories of my childhood and pre-teen years.  

Then I arrived at Ghost Town, which I remembered for its dusty, rustic decor, the stuffed two-headed calf, and other assorted oddities that horrified and delighted me when I was young. 

But when I got inside, I realized that things had changed over the past 40-plus years.  Gone were the two-headed calf and the oddities that I expected.  Even the buildings had been upgraded, and the quaint, rustic feel was lost.  

The attraction was dominated by a massive gift shop, which was far more interesting than anything else.  

As I drove away, I felt a sense of sadness and more than a bit of nostalgia.  I thought about my grandma and how she would take me there and always buy me candy at the end of the visit.  

I also thought about how childhood imagination can fade into adult reality, and I wished that wasn't so.  I longed to feel those feelings of wonder and joy again, unfettered by the cynicism and jadedness that often accompanies age.  

There's a passage in Paul's letters to the Corinthians where he states: 

"When I was a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; I felt as a child, I reasoned as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things..." 

I get that Paul was addressing a more metaphysical issue regarding how we see the world now, as opposed to how things are in God's reality.  But still, I have a problem with this way of thinking. 

Jesus said more than once that unless we have faith "like a child," we will miss out on seeing the truth and beauty of God's kingdom.  

At that moment, I remembered my trips to Ghost Town, which I had experienced when I was young.  They were filled with wonder and excitement, not so much for what I saw as to how and with whom I experienced them.  

This is a lesson we all need right about now.  The joy and beauty of our faith are inextricably connected to those with whom we have experienced it and the impact that communal experience has had on us.  

The theological explanations, while important, are secondary to how our faith impacts our minds, bodies, and souls.  Sometimes, what we need more than head knowledge is heart knowledge. 

May we experience our faith with childlike joy and imagination.  And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us now and always. Amen.