The Toddler Walk

Maybe it's their height -- or lack of height. They have a sight-line that is closer to the ground.

 Or, more likely it is their curiosity about the world -- after all it is very new.

Either way, toddlers teach a lot about how to see and appreciate the world. It is about paying attention.Now, most parents of toddlers will argue that paying attention isn't their child's strongest gift. But, I will argue -- go for a walk with a toddler and see if you agree with me.

Walking with toddlers and preschoolers is about seeing in a new -- or old and newly-found way. It is about noticing the world around us. Us old folks (older than 16) see the world as chocolate ice cream. We know what it is going to taste like, feel like, when we eat it. There are amazing and less-than-amazing chocolate ice creams, but we have a pretty good idea of what we will experience. Then, imagine experiencing the world as entlie ice cream. We have no idea what entlie will taste like. We are paying attention -- it is all new to us.There is a beautiful new book, Sidewalk Flowers, by JonArno Lawson that shares the wisdom of children and seeing with new eyes. 

The worldless book follows a little girl who walks home with her father. He fails to notice the way she sees the world and the ways in which she seeks to make it a more beautiful place. 

 This is a perfect early summer book to share with our kids -- of all ages. We can wonder together why the father doesn't notice what his daughter notices. We can wonder together about what she does to make the world a little more beautiful and healed.

We certainly can think and pray together about the things that we noticed throughout the day that could use our attention and how we too can make moments a little more beautiful and more healing for those around us.

Sidewalk Flowers is a prayer of confession and a witness to the God Sightings we shouldn't miss -- noticed by our kids and done by our kids.