There is a vast difference of perspective between adults and children. The things that I avoid (such as sugar, loud noise, chaos, etc.), children seem to be drawn to like magnets. The things they find boring are my comfort and joy. It creates a clash of wills in a home filled with a variety of ages.
The stark contrast is especially apparent in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which I saw many times growing up and loved and revisited recently (sidenote: I think my family had a VHS tape recorded from the TV version, because there were definitely a few words and questionable things that I did not remember seeing before). When I watched it as a kid, I remember thinking that Ferris was the coolest guy ever, an opinion shared by most characters in the film besides Mr. Rooney (the dean) and Ferris’ sister. But this time around, I found myself thinking, “What a jerk. He’s making his parents look like idiots, and he’s not even following school rules.” I was appalled at myself when I realized I was feeling sorry for Mr. Rooney, whose only mission was to bust Ferris Bueller. I also forgot about how much the story revolves around Cameron, Ferris’ best friend, and his relationship with his dad (who we never meet but gain a whole lot about from his shiny red car and the way Cameron talks about him). A son who needs to reconcile with a father … sounds like it may need to be a post of its own, but again, an example of the contrast between the way adults and children view the world.
When I realized how differently I viewed Ferris as an adult, I tried to look back at my life and figure out when I lost all wonder of the world. Life seems dull at times. But I cannot blame that on the world, if I’m being honest; rather, it’s my own eyes.
For example, the way I view Christmas is very different from the way my children see it. They are awed by it all and wait in wonder and anticipation. Adults, on the other hand, can get jaded and embittered by life experience and the burden of responsibility. In a new family devotional that StoryMakers is currently developing, the intro has a letter addressed to the children: “Your grown-up needs your help. Your imagination is full of fun ideas and your play muscles are strong! But grown-ups sometimes need a little help remembering where to find their imagination and how to play …” As the parent, I tend to believe I’m the person doing the teaching, but I love the idea of learning from those who still know how to use their imaginations, and renewing in me the childlike wonder found in their eyes.
So this Advent, my family will be going through the StoryMakers’ Advent One Adventure Zine, and I will be learning from my children how to see again. When we hear the story of Christmas year after year, it can become commonplace, but the zine has a great reminder: “When we think about Christmas, we forget that there is so much drama in the stories leading up to the birth of Jesus” (Advent One, p. 42).
When we take a close look at the story from the perspective of the biblical characters, we remember how not commonplace the events were. The zine encourages readers to put themselves in the shoes of the characters in the story, both young and old, and think about how they would have felt. Looking at Mary’s perspective it says,
Mary must have been so afraid. When we dig into our story, we can see the story becomes a little confusing … You see, Mary was a teen, and not married yet, so she was very confused and afraid that no one would believe her. Just when the story seems to be going in the opposite of peace, the angel says, “All things are possible with God” (Advent One, p. 23).
On top of the miracle of the virgin birth and the Son of God coming to earth, it is a miracle in itself that Mary had peace in that situation. When the angel told her what God would be doing through her, she was confused at first, but God gave her peace, and her confusion transformed into praise and adoration. Her wonder at what God would be doing for the world through her filled her heart and overflowed into beautiful worship of the Lord:
My soul glorifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
For he has been mindful
Of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
For the Mighty One has done great things for me —
Holy is his name.
In many ways, Mary bridges the gap between ages and generations. Being very young and full of wonder herself, God still chooses her to carry a massive responsibility. On the other extreme, her relative Elizabeth is “well along in years” (Lk 1:7) and yet is also asked to carry a large responsibility in giving birth to John the Baptist. They both have their wonder in the Lord renewed when Mary walks in the door and the baby inside Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy. Rather than calling this very awkward situation a burden and being bitter about what the Lord asked them to do, both women had peace and joy because God directed their eyes toward his saving work.
Speaking of feeling awkward, there was still the hurdle of explaining this baby to Joseph, the man who was betrothed to Mary. The zine describes it this way:
Wow! When Joseph first heard of Mary’s baby, his heart was broken, and he must have felt confused. Yet God made a way when there seemed to be no way forward for Joseph to love Mary. (Advent One, p. 32)
“God made a way when there seemed to be no way” … this is how God works. Jesus is the “way” when there seems to be no way. In the most impossible situations in life, God is there making a way. It was Jesus who sparked praise in Mary, joy in Elizabeth, and love in Joseph. It is Jesus who renews our wonder (at any age) in God’s world. It is Jesus who brings together the young and the old and unifies them under his promise, which is for all.
This Advent Season, I hope that God will help me see his story, the one that happened long ago and the story that is unfolding in my own life, with new eyes: those of children; those of Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, the angels, and shepherds; and most of all, the eyes of Jesus.
