The Joy Of Discovery

Had an interesting day a couple days ago. We took a family trip to IKEA. Now, if you're not familiar with IKEA, I'll try my best to describe it. Its a massive Swedish department store that is full of furnishings for the whole house as well as for the office. Imagine a furniture store, with a bit of Home Depot, Office Depot, and Walmart thrown into the mix, all of it with a Scandinavian flavor. Oh, yeah, and then throw in a restaurant complete with Swedish meatballs and a playroom for your little children. Upstairs is a showroom that seems to never end and downstairs is where you pick up your goods. No, this is not a paid advertisement.

I hope that paints a good picture for you. Now, picture a 4 year old full of energy walking through this show room that never seems to end. Ok, so maybe walking is not the correct term here. I'm not sure how to describe the process by which my 4 year old boy made his way through the show room, but lets just say he kept his mom and I on our toes.

"Look at this one mommy!"

"Wow, look an orange couch!"

"This one is really soft!"

"This one is softer than that one!"

"Mommy, the water doesn't work in this sink!"

"Daddy, look I'm sitting in this really high chair!"

"That bed is way too hard!"

On and on and on the exclamations poured out as he continued on his journey of discovery. He ran from couch to couch, from bed to bed, sat at every desk he could, and touched everything that was within reach. His older brother, an IKEA veteran, had a blast as well but I'm thinking most of his entertainment value came at watching his little brother as he experienced this Scandinavian wonderland for the first time.

I know its crazy that a store could hold that much excitement, but for a 4-year old the only thing necessary is for something to be new. There's just something about discovering things for the first time. This same joy of discovery is in us all. Its something we are born with. Although as adults, we may not get all that worked up about the funny shaped Swedish furniture at IKEA, trust me this joy of discovery is still in there. Just think of how you react to the latest technology on the market. Or, the excitement you feel behind the wheel of a new car. Or, when you slip on those new shoes, or new clothes. Think about the first time you saw mountains, or snow, or the ocean. Think about the first time you flew in a plane, or saw the Grand Canyon, or rode a roller coaster.

If we are not careful, though, we can get lulled to sleep by the things in life we have become acquainted with and comfortable with. So much so that discovering new things is something we rarely do. You know what I'm talking about. We go to the same restaurants and order the same food that we always do. We take the same route to work, never deviating off course. We go to the same vacation spot every year. We mow our yard in the same pattern every time we mow. We drink our coffee with the same flavored creamer every day. On and on the list goes.

God created us with this capacity to get excited about discovering new things. Although, that manifests in us as we take in the world around us, it was also meant to manifest in our discovery of Him. As I think about this, I'm reminded of a story in the Old Testament where the Children of Israel heard thunder and saw lightning as God revealed Himself to them in a small way. All of them were a bit freaked out by the whole event. So much so that they just told Moses to talk to God for them because they wanted no part of that. On the other hand, Moses gets close to God and desires to see more of Him. He's not satisfied with the part of God that he has been able to see.

The thing about discovering new things is that it can be a little bit uncomfortable for us. Sometimes, downright risky or dangerous. Yet, without this joy of discovery, life can get quite uneventful and bland. Like Moses, we were created with this built-in desire to discover God more intimately with each passing day. So often though, we are like the rest of that group that hesitates to go deeper with Him. It's risky isn't it. Mortal, imperfect man communing with an immortal, perfect God. Let's face it, the more we discover Him, the more messed up we realize we are. That of course, is completely uncomfortable for us as it requires a decision on our part to continue this journey of discovery or to stop right there. The crowd Moses lived with chose to stop when it got a little uncomfortable. Moses chose to get closer. If I had to guess whose life was more exciting I would have to say it was the guy who hung out with God so much that once he came down from the mountain with his face literally glowing with the glory of God. Incidentally, even that "glowing face" was a bit much for the rest of them as they insisted Moses cover his face. Yep, even that was too uncomfortable for them.

While discovering more and more of God can be a little dangerous, the joy of discovering new aspects and parts of Him far outweighs the risks. As a matter of fact, the only part of us that is in danger or at risk is the part of us that needs to die anyway. Whether it is finding Him in His Word, or in our quiet times, or as we take in His creation, there is a joy and excitement that comes with each and every moment of discovery. Just like my little one at IKEA, when it comes to our discovery of God we can choose to take in as much as we can possibly handle. Or, we can be like some of the adults walking through IKEA who have no idea what that orange couch feels like to sit in, or how comfortable that bed is to lay in. When we approach God with that kind of mentality while it is certain we will be comfortable, we will never experience the joy of discovery.

Lessons From The Buried Treasure Of The One-Eyed Pirate

I can't recall the pirate's name I used, but I do remember he was a one-eyed pirate and that's all that really matters. A few weeks ago, my sons and I embarked on a treasure hunt. I was sitting at home one day trying to think of a fun adventurous thing to do, when I remembered an idea my niece and nephew gave me about something their dad used to do when they were younger. A treasure hunt. So, I got up and got busy writing riddles, drawing maps, and hiding them throughout the house, garage, attic, and cars. Of course I had to get a treasure together and bury it in the back yard to make the adventure complete.

I don't want to brag, but I have to admit it was one of my better father/son adventure ideas I've had. I sat down with my two boys and began telling them about the pirate One-Eyed (Billy, Willie, Wally) or some made up name like that. Most people don't know it but he actually use to visit Conroe way back in the time period when pirates were sailing the ocean and raiding ships. Ok, so Conroe's a good 90 miles or so from the coast, but the story works good with boys 5 and 2. Now my 2 year old had no real idea what we were doing, but he sure had a blast running through the house with us and digging with his plastic shovel.

We ran all over the place and found clues that only the One-Eyed pirate himself could have left behind. Until finally, we had found 2 pieces of a map that had been torn in two. When we pieced the map together we discovered that the One-Eyed pirate seemed to have buried a treasure in our back yard. We got out the shovels, hunted for the X and started digging. There it was just like the map had indicated.

Of course, we had to run in and tell mommy about the treasure we had found and after that get something cold to drink because it was something like 120 degrees outside. Ok, it was more like 90 but hey, I'm in story mode here. After the excitement of the hunt was over, things got back to normal and the rest of the day was just like any other. Oh, but the hunt was a blast. Even for me and I knew where everything was.

It reminded me of times when I was a kid. Times when me along with others would head out in discovery mode and head off into the great unknown. There was that time when I went into the attic when I couldn't have been more than 6 or 7. I went up with a friend looking for bats that someone had told me lived in attics. I didn't find bats but I did discover that drywall doesn't do too well at holding up a young adventurous boy walking around in the attic. Fortunately, nothing broke when I fell through and hit the ground.

I loved that kind of stuff! No, I didn't enjoy the pain of the fall, but the adrenaline rush of stepping into a dark attic where bats might be, was awesome. I'm sure had I found bats, I would have fallen out of the attic trying to run from them. Here's my point. I think we were wired that way on purpose. Not just to run around looking for make believe treasures or bats that aren't really there. God wired us to get a thrill out of the process of discovering him. He longs for us to enjoy this journey of discovery that we are on concerning him. Of course, that journey is a bit dangerous at times. Times when we go through things that are beyond our control so that through it we can discover that part about Him that holds everything together. Then, there are those times when our trust in Him is stretched to the limit and find ourselves running out of time only to find that part of Him that is never late. How about those times when everything around you makes no sense at all and in the middle of it you discover that part of Him that doesn't think the way you think.

Our journey of discovery is not always fun, but you can never say it's not exciting. Back in the days of Moses, there was an event that took place that left the children of Israel a bit scared of God. God's talking and the children of Israel see lighting bolts, and smoke, and they hear loud noises like thunder. They freak out a bit and tell Moses that they have no desire to communicate with God one-on-one. They tell him that they are completely ok with the idea of God talking to him and then Moses can just relay the message the them. Why? Because, it seemed a bit dangerous. Our continuous discovery of God can seem a bit dangerous at times, but it will always be rewarding. As we grow to know him more and more, he'll stretch us and challenge us. He'll address things in us that need addressing even though we don't want to go there. He'll cause us to step out of our comfort zone and step into areas we've never been.

As a kid, I loved that kind of stuff, but as I grow older I get more comfortable with where I am. The truth is, God will let us stay right where we are, but where is the adventure in that? I think its time for some of us to rediscover the joy of discovering the unknown things of God. I know I'm ready to go on a treasure hunt.