I've always had this wild, adventurous spirit. I love traveling. I love nature, and I really love being able to see new things and meet new people, even if I am a little bit of an introvert. There's just something so amazing to me about the unknown. Like most dreams and loves, this was something birthed in me at a very young age.

When I was about 5 years old, I had this rather large, inflatable Dora-The-Explorer chair. And let me just say… it was the coolest thing ever!

During this time, we had just purchased these two, huge, really comfy lounge chairs. I didn't see the purpose in them at first because I mean I had a Dora-The-Explorer chair!!! What else does a girl need, am I right? So, 5 year old me, being the altitude and gymnastic loving little girl I was, decided that I could make the coolest throne seat ever (every little girl wants to be a princess thanks to Disney) by placing my Dora-The-Explorer chair on top of the backs of the two lounge chairs, bridging one piece of furniture to the other. Needless to say… like most of my self-propelling plans - it didn't work out too well. As soon as I crawled up to my throne to seat my majesty, the throne and I both, cordially, took a very royal plummet to the ground… The good news is, it turns out, inflatable Dora-The-Explorer chairs can serve as a pretty effective cushion for falls.

I LOVED heights... and it wasn't because of the power and authority I thought I somehow suddenly possessed from that seat that sat above everything else, but rather it was the viewpoint in which I could now see things differently than ever before. I could see life differently than ever before. I was made aware of things I couldn't see from the ground. I could see a whole new world of unknown.

You see… I believe that there's a word spreading like an epidemic among us as leaders in and of the local church, and the more openly I talk about it, the more I'm seeing a move of God stir up. I believe there is this unusual wonder stirring up in the hearts of those who believe and trust in the King of Kings. And it's simply one word; childlikeness.

Children are brave and resilient and do not fear their future. Children unashamedly ask questions because they recognize they don't know everything. Children see this world as infinite and unvoyaged with places and things still set out to discover. They see the world through kingdom eyes - almost as if this place was created for them to explore. Children are forgiving. Children have hope. They just see this earth differently than we do. They don't see this world as the same finite, endlessly searched planet as we do. It's much more than that. It's a kingdom of unknown - a land of a million possibilities.

Children see the world through kingdom eyes.

Have you ever really just taken the time to think about kings and queens and thrones and all that fun stuff? I mean when playing dress up, it's always the go to, right? The "Let's play princess," "I'm queen of the world," etc,… We all have this natural born instinct to want to lead and to want to see things from a greater, higher point of view. We all are born with this natural sense of wonder; to wander, and to go to depths that haven't been gone to before. But, at some point in our lives, or maybe even over time, we become these beings who have let the world and all things in it numb the true power that is within the eyes that God has given us to see the world through. We have let science's presumed discovery of the finiteness of this world cloud the reality of the miracle working power of the infinite and the eternity that is the King above all kings.

Guys, I really believe God's calling us back to childlikeness… and not so that we can continue playing this silly game of hide and seek with Him, but so that He can find as many of His children as possible for one last time. I believe that He's calling us back to the child within us that has kingdom eyes - the kid who has a heart for seeing the world from that summit; seeing the world in a gospel advancing kind of way. From this point of view, all things are possible.

I believe God is calling us back to looking at this world He's created with wonder-filled, kingdom eyes like we once did. He's pulling us near for a deeper oneness with Him. Because the more we become like Him, the more we are made aware of things we couldn't see from ground level. This world is more than landmarks and canyons to be discovered. For us, as believers, to think that this world has been searched to it's very end is to think very foolishly. Regardless of the apparent finiteness geographically, as long as there are still people being born - there will continue to be unsearched places and hearts to be found. This earth is not simply just rock, and dirt with inhabitable features - it's a kingdom; His kingdom… full of purpose and full of souls.

It's time for us to not just swallow our pride but to completely rid ourselves of it. We really don't know or understand as much as we think we do. Let's start seeing the world again with a sense of wonder. Let's start looking at this earth with eyes that are seeking God and advancing His kingdom.

Let's get back to childlikeness.

"I want to grow young again. To believe the best, ask questions seeking understanding, the strength of innocence, the beauty of trust. Not all questions are equal - some are rooted in wonder and honesty, some in doubtful skepticism, one is life and one is death. Self-protection, jadedness and mistrust are learned behaviors - we don't bring them with us into this world, we don't breathe them in at first breath. We're not born like that, yet somehow we've bought into believing that it's our nature. It's not. There is a more thorough healing than tiptoeing around our wounds of betrayal or disappointment and settling on it as "growing or wising up". There is a truer nature, a restart, a rebirth that runs deeper.

I want to choose childlikeness. I want to live with heart healed and unafraid, like my whole life is ahead of me without the taunting of "it's too late" or "you missed your chance". I want a rebirth of innocence and hope for a world in and around me that is exceedingly good, because at the very beginning that's what He said. I want to be a believer again, a believer in good. I want to be brought back to the start. "

- Kalley Heiligenthal (Bethel Worship)