Just Kidding

Image copyright Ian Ho 2010 | Post by Ian Leong

Have you seen the look in kids' eyes when they've got their sights on something they reallyyy really want? It's like they're lost in their own little fairytale world; away from the stressful reality of life.

I was at the sky garden atop the MBS and there was this clown - like a real clown, im not insulting anyone - blowing things up and giving them to little children. (Ok fine those things were balloons but isn't 'blowing things up' cooler than 'blowing balloons up'?)

He could make flowers and lions and all sorts of flowery and liony things, but this one kid - he's gonna make it big someday - he wasn't happy with just flowers or lions, nooo. He wanted a dragonfly.

I know, it doesn't sound very impressive but believe me, that dragonfly was a lot more dragon than it was fly. It was made up of (i think) 4 or 6 balloons (yes, for one dragonfly) and took him most of 10 minutes to put together. Even to an art-tard like me, that brightly coloured insect was a little flashy. To the trained and seasoned eye of the 5 year old kid though, it was the eighth wonder of the world.

His face shone in anticipation as he stretched his pudgy hand out to receive it, and the twinkle in his eyes as he took it put the stars to shame.(yup even the honeystars. his eyes are so swweett!)

He was taken to another dimension, far away from the things of this world. It was just him, and the dragonfly; nothing else mattered. Time ceased to exist as he pranced around the clearing waving his winged companion about, having the time of his life.

What i would give to be back in his shoes, living that blissfully ignorant life. To be away from the worries that trouble us daily, the deadlines we have to meet and appointments we have to keep, the things that needed doing and.. and the coffee that keeps us going!

What i would give, to be free again.

Ok that was slightly melodramatic, but c'monn wouldn't you like to be in his shoes too?! I'm sure we all remember those days we were lost in our kiddy reverie - a James Bond action film - sound effect and all - running through our minds as we pushed action figures about for the guys, and a heartwarming romance for the girls as you fussed over barbies.

Remember the awe you felt when you saw your first rainbow, the fear at deafening peals of thunder? What about the warm fuzzy feeling inside when your parents hugged you during a storm and told you everything was gonna be alright? Things were all nice and dandy, simple really. Then..

Then we grew up.

The innocence of childhood was left behind in favour of independence and our desire for freedom - for the right to decide what we do with our lives, and the power to choose. The Real World engulfed us, and we gave in without a struggle.

Gone were the days of silent contentment, of sitting around playing quietly for hours with our toys. Today, there's never enough time to do all we need to do. It's always one assignment after another, snowballing into an avalanche threatening to squish us into mush.

We're worried about one thing or another, wondering how this is gonna work out or how that's not. We spend days thinking about issues with our friends and issues with - wait a sec...

What happened to the good ol' memory verses that God knows our way, and He's got a plan? What happened to "He's Able", or even that awesome reminder 'bout "what a Friend we have in Jesus"?

I'm not saying we've forgotten these truths, or that we've lost sight of what's important in life through the years, but perhaps maybe - just maybe - in our rush to grow up to move on, we've forgotten what it's like to be a child.

A kid, eyes fixed on God and God alone, sitting quietly by the riverbank (i wouldn't pick the singapore river if i were you; it still stinks pretty bad) just talking to Him, spending a little quality time with Him. Pouring out the troubles of your heart and knowing that hey, I'm just a kid man, (cue simpleplan music) i can't handle this stuff. But God - man, He's old - He'll handle it just fine.


Nothing else mattered; time ceased to exist as i ran about in the presence of my Daddy God.

It isn't easy, but maybe it's time we put a hold on growing up, and learnt to be kids again.





Some after-thoughts by Ian Ho:

Indeed, as ironic as it may seem, sometimes growing up and maturing in Christ means to be like a child again. After all, as the Steven Curtis Chapman song puts it, we're all children of God, sons and daughters and almighty God is our father. To be as pure, innocent and carefree as kids are, dependent on our father for support and guidance and trusting in His ways - I think that's what the phrase child-like faith means. A word of caution though: child-like faith isn't the same as a childish faith. There's a huge difference!

Anyways, to whoever who's reading this, hope you've enjoyed our very first post!