Children at Play

It is somewhat sad that it is hard for me to remember what it felt like to be a child.  As I get older (at the ripe old age of 36), I get further distanced from the joys of childhood.  I am so focused on all of the things that I, as an adult, need to care for.  There are bills, there are schedules to keep, to-do lists that need doing, more bills come, the time passes, things keep getting added to the to-do list.  It seems to be a never ending and over-whelming struggle against the clock.  And then you watch children play.  They play carefree - not worrying about even the next moment, only thinking of that which is presently entertaining them.  They play whatever their imaginations will allow - they create worlds with bad guys and heroes, with monetary abundance or need.  And they use whatever tools they have at their disposal.  Need to capture a robber, no problem - simply pick up the stick and it becomes a police issued weapon.  Need to sail to Spain, no problem - hop on the couch and trim the sails and you are off on a rolling ocean bound for foreign lands.  Perhaps this is why the Scriptures so often refer to being children.  Christ himself tells us that we need to have faith like a little child.  And Paul in Romans says, "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, . . ." (Romans 8:16).  We are children of God.  This means that we have the freedom to play.  We are not to be bound by the worry and anxiety that comes with "growing-up" instead we are to cast all of our cares onto the One who is capable of carrying them.  We are not to get so lost in the busyness of the world around us that we forget to use our imaginations - we are told instead that we should trust a God who will do things beyond what we ask or imagine.  We serve a God who has created an environment in which He has provided all that we need.  We serve a God who continually cares for us and watches over us.  So let's play.  Let's live our lives as though God has taken care of everything.  Let's imagine together the things that God can accomplish in and through us and play!  When we do, we pick up sticks and they part seas.  When we do five loaves and two fish feed thousands.  When we play and trust God and simply obey what He directs us to do the results seem to me to be so much more enjoyable than trying to "be an adult" and holding all of the worry ourselves.  So let's get out there and play!