Though the eyes of a Child

 

Through the Eyes of a Child

It is kind of nice to some days just relax, have a cup of coffee, sit down to write, and kind of feel chit-chattery, in a talking /writing sort of mood.  There have been a lot of by-products of sobriety over the last twenty-two years.  The desire to learn more of this God of my understanding, the more easy going, less stress induced life, the change of perception of my reality, from inward to look outward and seeing the Life surrounding me, and of course the memories.  The A.A. Big Book tells me my past will be come my most cherished asset, that I will no longer wish to shut the door on it.  I know that to be true, but also I know not only do I have the memories of my drinking days but also the days since, the sober days.   I have, in sobriety, tried to develop a simple, easy, almost child like way of looking at life and my God.

Now, I have many memories that stick out in sobriety, that show me my God’s love for me, but they also show me the change in perception the being sober has wrought in me.  This is one such memory, and it is cherished by me above and beyond any human price tag.  Here it goes:

“I remember one day, in early fall, my oldest daughter having just started kindergarten.  We had just moved from Germany to Colorado Springs, Colorado and her command of English was still not going to well.  She had wanted to ride the bus to school, so my wife, our youngest daughter and I had walked her down to the school bus stop, and watched her get on the bus and depart for school. Well, the day past and the time came to pick here up from the bus stop.  As she exited the bus, it was easy to see she was upset and that things had not gone well.  The noise on the bus, the language difficulty and the full day of school had all taken its toll on my sweetheart and she was in tears.  There was little that we parents could do to console our oldest, but at that moment our two year old daughter walked over to her, took her hand, and started the block walk back to home.  Walking behind them I was struck with the thought that sometimes God is best seen thought the eyes of a child.  For no amount of talking brought relief to my daughter’s pain.  It was the loving act of her sister, holding her hand.  God’s love was easy to see on that sunny fall afternoon.”

I have many more memories to share, but this is one of my favorites. This one has taught me many lessons over the years, and reminds me to stick to the basics and to keep it simple.  God’s love is not difficult or complex, it just is.