Something New

I love watching my children when they are wrapped up in the simple joy of discovering something new. My three month old has found his feet this week – literally! He’s just worked out that there’s something attached to the bottom of his legs, and his feet are the most amazing things he’s seen yet. Any time he’s on his back, he delights in putting his tootsies up in the air so that he can get a good look at them. And at 2 ½, my toddler is revelling in new discoveries and soaks up new information like a sponge. Today we stood out on the front deck together watching a storm approach. As the first big drops of rain hit she said, “Mummy, I smell something delicious!” What a delightful way to describe the smell of rain. The only new thing I’ve discovered this week is that fly spray sets off smoke alarms if you spray it too close.

In this new year I hope I can recapture that simple joy of a new discovery I so often see in my kids. I hope I learn something new about myself, something new about my God, and something new about the world around me. I hope I am brave enough to try a new activity or learn a new skill. And I hope that at least once this year, my face lights up like my daughter’s does when she smells rain, or touches a starfish, or tastes a fresh strawberry, or when my son looks at his feet…