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Children are frequently asked, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" And children frequently act out their answers by simulating the world of big people in the world of make believe. We pretend to be waitresses and rock stars, doctors and mothers, builders and teachers. We exchange play money with customers, drive toy cars on imaginary race tracks, impersonate bosses on the job, and stage dramatic battle scenes with kids in the neighborhood.

And then, too suddenly, we really do grow up. We go off to college, secure a job, find a spouse, buy a home and have children of our own. Play dates give way to earning paychecks. Recess is replaced with deadlines and meetings. Castles in the clouds are crowded out by paying the mortgage down here on earth.

It is to be expected, of course, that we grow up and "get real," for there is a good deal of childishness we need to leave behind. But all too often we lose something else along the way of becoming an adult, something essential to living this life well. We lose our childlike capacity for wonder.

Healthy children are inquisitive about life. They take in what we take for granted. They pay attention to the performance of creation whereas we tend to fall asleep in the theater of God's amusements.

Recently, I was given some photographs which illustrate the point. In the first photo, a young child is taking a break from the pretend work of being a farmer in order to stop and observe two horses feeding together from the same bowl. The spectacle was beautiful enough to capture his rapt attention.

In the other photos, children from the African Children's Choir are getting their first taste of snow (quite literally) here in central Missouri . They had heard of the wet, white stuff. They had seen it once from their tour bus windows. But last December, they were able to play in the snow for the first time in their lives.

The pictures illustrate some important lessons. With all of the work that you need to do, give yourself time to play. In the busyness of your daily schedule, take a moment to gratefully acknowledge the grace that is around you. In the process of growing up, don't outgrow your childlike curiosity about this curiously delightful world.