ENGLAND: Zoo Outing!

Yesterday, I visited the zoo, and I brought with me two English children whose family and I have become good friends over the last two years.
  Dean (12) had only ever gone to the zoo once, six years ago, and Hanna (8) had never, ever been to a zoo.

We woke up early in the morning and travelled by bus, walk, train, taxi and bus again to get to Chester Zoo.
  (You have to love public transportation!)
  While there, we had a blast enjoying God’s amazing creation, and God taught me two amazing lessons.

First of all, I have not visited a zoo in a long time, and I have certainly never taken a child to the zoo before and filled the role of “adult.”
  When I went with Dean and Hanna yesterday, I learned 
 a new kind of joy.
  I remember the zoos of my childhood as fun times, but yesterday took the cake!

As I watched their faces and heard their shrieks of laughter and delight every time we turned a corner, I experienced a new set of zoo emotions.
  My joy doubled in response to their delight.
  The more they liked the animals, the more fun and excitement I myself experienced.

Then the Lord reminded me that He experiences a similar double joy when I delight in Him.
  Sure, He enjoys me all the time, but He enjoys me all the more when I am enjoying Him!
  I’ve heard this principle explained many times by wonderful authors and speakers like John Piper, but today I had a little taste of what it’s like from God’s perspective.

The second thing God showed me arose out of a visit to the bat cave.
  True to little boy nature, Dean waited anxiously all day to go into the bat cave.
  He was so excited about it!
  Hanna, however, seemed much more apprehensive.
  When we finally arrived at the bat cave, she asked if she could wait outside, but I told her she had to go through.
  I reasoned that she might be scared, but perhaps experiencing the bat cave would teach her the difference between being cautious and being paralyzed by fear.

We walked in.
  Dean ran around from room to room, bouncing off the walls with enthusiasm and exclaiming loudly every time he saw a bat.
  They are magnificent creatures, and I enjoyed seeing them.
  Hanna, however, immediately jumped into my arms and covered her head with her arms.
  I picked her up and held her tightly, and I finished touring the bat cave with her wrapped around me for dear life.

By the end, she didn’t seem nearly as scared.
  I’m not sure she would choose to live in a bat cave (Dean would!), but I think she did take time to look at some of them and appreciate their battiness.
  I hope she learned a few things.
  I hope that she fears bats less, and I hope that she knows that I would never force her to do something dangerous.
  I hope she also learned that facing your fears can sometimes put them in perspective.
  Perhaps they shouldn’t be fears at all!

As we left the bat cave, God reminded me how my experience with Hanna often resembles His experiences with me.
  Many times in life, I have felt fear and asked God if I could skip out on the situation looming in front of me.
  Most of the time He says no, but He promises to remain near me.
  If I take a step of faith (just a tiny little one) and enter the bat caves of my life, God doesn’t mind if I jump up in His arms and cling on for dear life.
  I think He likes it!

As I think back on all of the hard situations I have walked through, I know that God held me right in the palm of His hand.
  He didn’t hold me lightly; instead, He wrapped Himself firmly around me and kept me tucked away in the safest place in the universe.
 
My life was (and is!) hid with Christ in God….

What a wonderful zoo day I experienced!!
  I wanted to do something nice for those kids, but God showed up and did something nice for me as well.
  O Praise Him!!