looking for lizards…

Ever since my son Berkeley was little ( he is now 18) he has been infatuated with reptiles, and, at some phases of his life, fairly obsessed with catching them. He has captured more snakes than any responsible mother would allow (while I watched). I think he thought he was the “Crocodile Hunter” from the TV show (who eventually died from being stung by a…Stingray. Go figure). One time,  he caught a snake while at the park with grandma. She made him take it out of the van and he put it underneath the van for safe keeping, in order to catch more snakes. When he came back, it was gone. Later that night they woke to grandma screaming. The snake had crawled into her purse and surprised her when she went to get something out of it. (It just occurred to me that we never interrogated Berkeley to see if HE had possibly put it in there.)  Anyway-Berkeley would be on the look out for snakes and lizards everywhere we went. And he found them, in places you didn’t even know they lurked ( some of you are hyperventilating just thinking about it…). Even when he went to Israel with Blake at age 7 he caught snakes and lizards. WHY did he spot reptiles when no one else was aware of them? BECAUSE HE WAS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THEM. Not to frighten some of you, but they are all around you, you just aren’t looking.

Last week I was reminded of this obsession of Berkeley’s as I talked with a friend about noticing opportunities for kindness or conversations about faith, recovery, Hope. We either notice these opportunities BECAUSE WE ARE LOOKING for them or we keep moving along in a state of unawareness about the people and needs around us. Or maybe God is trying to answer your prayers for a friend, or give you an encouraging word or touching moment to let you know he “hears” you. We often just move through our day as if it’s just another day. That we don’t live in some sort of spiritual realm where small miracles can happen everyday IF WE ARE LOOKING FOR THEM. Spot a snake or lizard today.  Or catch one, if you dare.