Yes, it's true. My husband & I go to the zoo without any children along. I know that's strange but people don't stare too much. They probably think grandchildren are somewhere nearby.

When our boys were young I was known to coax them into a zoo trip now and then. Usually, by begging because they didn't care too much about going to see the smelly animals. If that didn't work I would have had to resort to 'surprising' them with a trip after they got into the car. Would that be considered 'shanghai'? Although I didn't have to stoop to that level, most times pity worked, but only when they were young. Once they reached teenage years, nothing worked so we had to go it alone.

I love the Zoo! One trip was particularly memorable, but not necessarily in the way you might think. The zoo we visited had a wonderful variety of animals and interesting exhibits although I was a little bit disappointed there were only a couple of monkeys in the entire zoo. Monkeys and gorillas are usually my favorite thing to see.

But even though the zoo didn't house monkeys, I happened on to one exhibit where there was a little monkey and I'm quite certain the zoo had no idea he was there. The complete area was kept very dark because its purpose was to display bats and other nocturnal creatures. But there in the darkness, we found him. Well, actually he found us.

Although most people mistook him for a little boy, we experienced the 'monkey' side of him. We had barely entered exhibit when he began to give us the tour. He was most likely about 8 years old but he told us about every creature and species in the area. That's right. He followed us throughout the whole place telling us stuff. I'm pretty sure most of the 'stuff' he told us was very wrong, but still he kept up a good front, never admitting he didn't know everything about everything. Even though no one else was convinced of his knowledge and expertise, he appeared confident as he made up story after story.

At one point he wanted us to believe he either worked there or owned the place. I'm not sure which. But he was determined to impress us with his importance. He looked inside one of the exhibits displeased with something he saw and then he said, "I thought I told that zookeeper to get that out of there!" Yeah, he actually said that.

You would have been proud of us. We didn't even laugh or tease him once and we thanked him for the tour as we made our exit. He was a cute, imaginative little monkey and seemed to be having a lot of fun trying to make us think he worked there. But I have to wonder how much fun he would be having if the zoo actually employed him. Would he still be excited when he had to study and learn the 'real' facts about the animals? And having to show up for work every single day would certainly interfere with other activities of an 8 year old boy. Ah, but the 'idea' of working there was another thing entirely.

I've found that same thing to be true with many people I meet. They love the 'idea' of being a Christian and are excited about the 'idea' of going to church and completely enamored with the 'idea' of actually working for God's Kingdom. But when it comes right down to it, going to church every week, studying the Bible and living like a child of God is a whole other matter. It all seems to get in the way of their other activities.

It's true we can fool others at times and at times even trick ourselves into believing the 'idea' is an actuality. But God is never fooled. Psalm 139 says He knew us before we were even formed in our mother's womb. He knows every thought and every action. He knows every motive and everywhere we go. There is nothing hidden from Him. Take a minute and read the entire chapter for yourself. You'll find it very enlightening. I did.

...And if you encounter an imaginative little boy at the zoo, be kind. One day maybe he'll read Psalm 139 too.