A Whole New Pair of Eyes

Mike and I and the kids are in Hawaii taking a much needed vacation and collective deep breath. Mike's parents were kind enough to gift us their timeshare and Alaska Airlines' frequent flyer miles came through with the travel expense. We have no agenda here. Nothing major to accomplish. Nowhere we have to be. We're on day two of this vacation to paradise and I'm already settling in. It usually takes me at least three days to relax into vacation mode, three days to get over my addiction to checking e-mail, calendars and school newsletters.

Last night, our first night here, my family and I took a sunset walk through the golf course to the cliffs overlooking the glittering, aquamarine Pacific Ocean. We marveled at the sea, at how each wave had its own unique personality, its own way of slamming into the black lava rocks on the shore. We talked excitedly about the volcano on the island, how it's lava was forming new land everyday. We climbed on the lava rocks and explored as much of the terrain as we could without the clarity of daylight. As it grew darker, an incredible desire to run around the golf course took us over. We began sprinting and doing cartwheels all over the green. Somewhere, the groundskeeper was shuddering as my not so perfect round offs imprinted the shape of my bare feet and buttocks into the grass.

As we walked back to our condo, my son grabbed my hand excitedly and in an awed voice, said,

"Mama, I have a whole new pair of eyes."
"What do you mean, buddy?"
"It's like when I see the lava rocks and the ocean and the palm trees, my eyes change."
"Do you mean they really like what they're seeing?"
"OH, yeah. But, they don't feel like my old eyes. I have SO much to write for my weekend report at school. I might need some extra days to work on it."

Caleb glimpsed beauty and felt his perspective change. Saying the sunset was pretty or that he merely liked the sea wasn't a clear enough description for what he felt. He had a new kind of sight, a new way of seeing the world. Like the marks my attempts at gymnastics had left on the golf course, beauty had made a lasting impression on his soul.

As we walked, his small hand grasping mine tightly, I prayed silently for my own set of a whole new pair of eyes.