Day 3: Imagination.

Scotty took this picture in India last month.  Doesn't it just beg for a creative story??

I had a vivid imagination as a child.  I could spend a lot of time alone in my bedroom pretending my day-bed was a ship being tossed at sea and I would hold onto the metal bars to keep from being flung into the violent ocean.  Even in college I sometimes imagined that the little green lizards sitting on the pool deck watching me swim could sense that we were both made for the glory of the King.

My absolute favorite pastime with my children has always been reading creative books.  I'm halfway through The Fellowship of the Ring with Natty and I've noticed how she's started being more dramatic in the way she talks about everyday things and sometimes even waxes eloquently about immortality.  It's all in playfulness, but it makes me smile to see her come alive as her imagination is stimulated.  Moses comes downstairs after rest-time in a different super-hero outfit each day.  He tells me what super powers he possesses and how he plans on using it to defeat the bad guys.  Since Jubi and Moses spend a lot of time playing together, she was always finds a way to work a princess into the story.  These are all common games that children play, but sometimes we underestimate imagination. 

When I think about some of the stories we know in the Bible, I realize how important it is to have a great imagination to understand the full scope of what the Lord has done over the course of our history.  As someone who has been a Christian more years than not, what we read in scripture can sound familiar.  But, have you ever stopped to think about what it actually was like to be thrown down among hungry and ferocious lions only to find that their mouths had been miraculously closed?  And then to be in the kings shoes the next morning when he finds, to his surprise and relief, that your friend Daniel is actually still alive? 

There's a homeless woman who walks the streets of the area I live every day with a bundle on her back, dirty clothes and recycled tennis shoes.  She lives in a cave and has stray dogs faithfully following her.  I've never seen her interact with another human being.  What would it be like for me to see her with her hair brushed, clean clothes and calmly looking into the eyes of someone while they talked with her?  Imagining this gives me a clearer understanding of what took place in the life of the demon possessed man whom Jesus freed. 

The Lord gave us an imagination because He is creative and we are to be like Him.  He also gave it to us so we could better understand the depth of His love, His work, His grace.  I hope Scotty and I can continue to foster that in our kids for their sake and for ours.