Return to Wonder
Reclaiming a Childlike Heart in the Kingdom of God
The Dream
When I was a kid, I used to dream about living in Disneyland.
Not just visiting often — actually living there.
Maybe I’d stow away on Tom Sawyer’s Island. Find a hidden place to camp until the park closed. I am 1000% sure someone has tried.
In my imagination, the lands and the characters were real. I’d have the park to myself with a few close friends, running from adventure to adventure with unlimited access to every mountain, every island, every hidden world.
No lines.
No fears.
No crowds.
No costs.
Just joy.
In some ways, that dream never left me.
Because what I really wanted wasn’t just a theme park.
I wanted a door into a world that didn’t disappoint.
A different kind of kingdom.
Through Their Eyes
Recently I went back to Disneyland with my daughters.
Before a single ride.
Before meeting a princess.
Before even getting a churro.
My almost-four-year-old looked around and said:
“I never want to leave.”
She wasn’t thinking about cost.
Or wait times.
Or logistics.
She was receiving the world as gift.
And watching her, I realized:
I hunger for this too.
To look at the world with delight instead of fear.
With expectancy instead of exhaustion.
With wonder instead of analysis.
And yet Jesus tells us:
“For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.” — Luke 17:21
Not someday.
Not somewhere else.
Here.
So… where is it?
Kingdom Living
When I think back to going to Disneyland as a child, I remember trusting:
My parents were there.
The ride was safe — yes, even the Matterhorn.
I could do it.
And because of that trust —
I could enter the adventure.
This is the spiritual life.
The Kingdom of God is not merely a future destination.
It is the active reign of God — His life, His power, His presence — breaking into our ordinary world.
Not a distant God.
A pursuing Father.
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” — Philippians 4:13
This ride of life isn’t always safe.
But we are.
Because we are held.
The question is not:
Is the Kingdom here?
The question is:
Will I receive it like a child?
The Kingdom is already open to you.
Trust is what lets you enter it.
Adventure — With Trust
At Disneyland children experience something extraordinary:
All the thrill.
All the mystery.
All the danger.
…but inside complete safety.
You face the snake.
You sail with pirates.
You take the drop.
Because someone you trust is holding the whole experience together.
That is life in the Kingdom.
God does not remove the drop.
He transforms it.
Even suffering.
Even the cross.
Becomes a place of encounter and hope.
Receive — Don’t Achieve
Jesus doesn’t say:
“Understand the Kingdom. Earn the Kingdom”
He says:
“Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” — Mark 10:15
Receive.
Not achieve.
Not control.
Not manage.
Childlike means:
Trusting the Father is there
Stepping into the story
Living with wonder
Believing grace is real
As adults, we stand in the middle of the Kingdom calculating the cost of churros.
We are in it — but not living from it.
Change Your Mind
C.S. Lewis gives us the imagery in The Last Battle:
Heaven is not a replacement world.
It is the real world breaking through.
Everything is more solid.
More alive.
More itself.
That’s what Jesus means when He proclaims:
“The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” — Matthew 4:17
Close enough to touch.
Close enough to miss.
The invitation is relationship.
To breathe.
To trust.
To see again — as a son or daughter. As the beloved.
Beginning the Adventure: Healing
This is why healing matters.
Because trauma, sin, and suffering teach us:
You are not safe.
You are alone.
Hide.
Fear tells us the ride will destroy us.
So we stop living from the Kingdom — even while standing in it.
But when healing begins:
We laugh again.
We play again.
We risk again.
We imagine again.
We live from the truth:
The Father is here.
Healing is learning to live as a son or daughter in the Kingdom.
The Promise
After the Resurrection, Jesus moves in total freedom:
Through locked doors.
Across space.
Into heaven.
And He still eats with His friends.
This is humanity fully alive under the reign of God.
“This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity… is called: heaven.” — CCC 1024
The Kingdom in its fullness.
No illness.
No depression.
No fatigue.
And it has already begun.
I Never Want to Leave
That longing you feel:
For joy that doesn’t end
For communion that never breaks
For a world that is always new
is not escapism.
It is recognition.
You were made for the Kingdom.
And one day we will hear:
Come further up.
Come further in.
Reclaiming a Childlike Heart
At the Catholic Therapy Center, we often say that healing is not just about reducing symptoms — it is about learning to live as a beloved son or daughter in the Father’s Kingdom.
A childlike heart is not naïve.
It is formed, healed, and surrendered.
Here are concrete ways to begin:
1. Slow Down Your Body to Reawaken Your Soul
The Kingdom is received — and reception requires space.
Sit for two minutes.
Feel your feet on the ground.
Take one slow breath and pray:
“Father, I receive Your love for me right now.”
This is human formation.
You are teaching your nervous system that:
You are safe.
You are held.
You are not alone.
Grace builds on nature — and a regulated body makes room for a receptive heart.
2. Renounce the False Self and Return to Sonship
Many of us live as:
performers
managers
protectors
hyper-independent adults
But in the Kingdom you are first a son or daughter.
Start your day not with a to-do list, but a moment with:
“Abba, what are we doing together today?”
This shifts you from control → communion.
From anxiety → inheritance.
3. Invite Jesus Into the Places That Learned Not to Trust
Childlike trust is not recovered by willpower.
It is restored through encounter.
In prayer or in therapy, gently ask:
Jesus, where did I learn the world wasn’t safe?
Where did I start believing I was alone?
Then allow Him to meet you there.
This is where deep healing happens.
Not information —but transformation.
4. Reclaim Play as a Spiritual Practice
At the CTC we view play as:
a sign of integration.
Play means:
you are not in survival mode
your heart is coming back online
joy is becoming safe again
Do one small thing each week that has no productivity attached to it:
Walk.
Create.
Laugh with your children.
Be outside.
This is not wasting time.
This is Kingdom training.
5. Practice Daily Awe to Retrain Your Perception
The child sees the Kingdom because the child looks for gift.
Each night, name:
one moment of beauty
one moment of connection
one moment of grace
This rewires your mind toward abundance instead of scarcity.
Toward the Father instead of fear.
6. Live From Mission, Not Maintenance
In the Kingdom you are not just being cared for —
you are being sent.
Ask:
Where is God inviting me to love today?
Who needs the hope I’ve received?
Childlike-ness and mission always go together.
Because secure sons and daughters become bold.
7. Receive the Sacraments as Encounters With the Kingdom
The Kingdom is not an idea.
It is lived through:
the Eucharist
Confession
prayer with the Word
Community
These are not obligations.
They are places where heaven breaks into your story.
Healing the human person through the power of the Holy Spirit
means learning to live every day as a beloved child in the Father’s Kingdom.
A Simple Starting Rule of Life
If you want one place to begin this week:
Daily:
Receive love in stillness for 2 minutes
Weekly:
Do one playful, non-productive activity
In prayer:
Call God “Father” and speak to Him as a child
Small fidelity → restored wonder → Kingdom vision.
Why This Matters
Because the goal is not to feel like a child again.
The goal is to become:
A fully alive, fully integrated, deeply rooted
son or daughter who trusts the Father in everything.
That is psychological healing.
That is spiritual maturity.
That is life in the Kingdom.
Reflection for Your Healing Journey
Where is God inviting you to trust instead of control?
Where are you in the Kingdom but not living from it?
What would change if you believed the Father is already here in abundance?
Closing Prayer
Jesus,
teach me to live in Your Kingdom now.
Give me the heart of a child who trusts the Father.
Heal the places where fear keeps me outside the adventure.
Let me receive my life as gift —
so I can run further up and further in.
Amen.
