Seeing from the Low Position

I’m exercising on the floor in front of a window. I do “the bridge,” an exercise to strengthen my back. When finished, I lie there watching white clouds move across the blue sky, and I remember....

I remember being little and seeing the world from this low position. Inside my house, everything was black or brown: a basket of sewing, stove, chair legs, trunk, lamp pole, table legs. Outside, I would lie on green grass and watch clouds float above me. My sister and I would find shapes of something recognizable like a monkey or a fish. It was all silly and giddy.

Mother and Daddy were big like mountains. Full of authority and as practical as doorknobs.

I now see that I had the best point of view. I had the lower perspective. At my eye level, a bed could become an island, a small porch, a boat. I giggle now, thinking about it.

When did I lose that precious view? Lose that playful fun? I stay on the floor, looking at the clouds, longing for that magical wonderland. And what exactly is it I am longing for? Maybe the crazy, happy moments. We were dirt poor, but it didn’t matter. Those fun moments were everywhere. Happy joy moments.

Okay, time to get up, fold the mat, organize thoughts, start chores. I do not move from my Alice in Wonderland place. Instead, I muse on the clover chains my sister and I created for crowns, necklaces, bracelets. I reflect on catching fireflies in Mason jars. Pure wonder, pure delight. Adventures and laughter. We lived from the heart.

It was a way of seeing from down low. It was the only perspective I had.

I now live beside a river, surrounded by mountains. No way for me to miss it: God is big. I am little. You’d think I’d pause every few hours and say “Thank You” to my awesome God. But do I? No. Like most grownups, I have people to meet, places to go, pride to feed.

So opposite from what Jesus told the disciples: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (NIV)

I love it! And this world is upside down. God actually welcomes those who come with a childlike heart, who can see from the low position.

That makes me smile.

Photo by Alex Jimerson, taken in the Ozark Mountains, near Norfork, Arkansas. February 18, 2017.