see the world

{found via pinterest}

yesterday morning we wrapped up our thanksgiving festivities in richmond, and as i was getting ready to leave i looked down at the golden gate bridge on my shirt, and i thought about all of our travels as of late. and i thought about how much i want to see the world.

not just for me, mind you, but for keane.

my dear boy, i want you to know that the world is a big place - so much bigger than you, with amazing places, and amazing people, and amazing things. i want you to see God's creation, and stand in awe of the mountains, and the canyons, and the wildlife. 

i want you to stand in awe of the gifts of men, the gifts given by our creator in the forms of art and architechture and cities and bridges.

i want you to see the world so you can understand how vast it is and how different cultures live in it. i want you to see that though cultures across this spinning planet are very different from one another, there are also things that translate from one to the next. and despite our differences we are all people, and we all have similarities regardless of who we are and where we are from; not the least of which is that we were all created in the image of God. 

and while you go about seeing the world i want you to dig into the universe and recognize that the vastness of the earth is nothing compared to the vastness of space. i want you to see that the earth is one itty bitty part of an itty bitty solar system, and that we as individuals are just a miniscule part of our planet.

i want you to understand all of that, baby boy, because only then can you begin to understand how crazy it is that God made himself into a man to fight for us itty bitty miniscule people.

yes, baby, i want you to see the world for all of those reasons, but i also want to see the world in part because i just do, it's selfish. because i know there are really cool places out there, and i want to be able to say that i've been there and  i've seen them. but i also want to see the world to get a better understanding of people. and i want you to understand people too.

i once heard a quote that says "in as much as you are known, you are loved." i don't remember who said it, but i can promise you it wasn't me. but it did make me think in a way i never had before in my then-twelve-year-old life.

because yes, it is true that other people cannot say they really know or understand something about you if they don't really know you, but it is also true in reverse. you cannot really know or understand others without taking the time to actually get to know them.

so i want to travel the world, and i want you to travel the world, because i want us to get to know people.

sometimes really knowing people makes it harder to love them, but to really love people you have to really know them. yes, we are called to show love regardless, but that's not what i mean. because showing love and showing disdain are both equally easy when you do not know people, but if you really know and understand people it is much harder to show real disdain for them. not impossible, but harder.

and we are called to love others. really love them.

i pray that as we go through this little life, we'd be able to see people through the eyes of christ.

when you were just a few weeks old you're great-aunt said your eyes peered so deep that they could look straight into one's soul. my sweet boy, i pray that stays true.

i pray that as you grow you continue to see deep into people's souls. i pray that you see past the pretense and the outer layer of what they show to the world. because we are all deeper than we look on the outside.

i want you to see the world, baby. i want you to see the world so you can know and understand people. so you can love people.
so you can love people well.

i love you sweet boy. i pray that as we head into this christmas season you start to understand what christmas is all about. that God so loved the world that he sent his only son to us.

xo