So far every evening this week, I've been hanging out with a bunch of new little friends. It is Summer Bible Quest (VBS) at HOCC this week and I've been volunteering in one of the craft centers. Playdough is so much fun, who knew? I'd forgotten how great it feels when it is fresh out of the can and squeezed between the fingers. There has got to be something psychologically therapeutic in it because its just too much fun! You should have seen the aquamarine colored gecko I made last night. Legendary. I think we bonded!
Working with adults all the time, it is easy to forget just how great little kids are. Tonight, I was having flashbacks to my own childhood and it was just so great to hear the echoes of my past. Little "Sarah" (not her real name) commandeering the entire class with an oration so completely off the topic it could not have been scripted any better. She just went on and on and on... not giving any adult in the room even a chance to break in and head her off at the storied pass.
"Brian"(again, not his real name) making speedy work of a Playdough snake (that looked more like 1/2 a bratwurst than anything even closely resembling a snake) so that he could do what he really wanted to do with the Playdough... roll it out into a flat patty on the table top and bore his fist right through the middle of it until he'd made a hole the size of the Grand Canyon. He proudly proclaimed, "Look at me, look at me... I made a hole!" Woo-hoo little buddy... let's celebrate the hole (was my internal reply)! But... you've just gotta love it... and I did rejoice in the hole he'd made! As far as holes go... it was a good one!
This year our children's ministers have done a great job making VBS a "family" experience. Parents are remaining with their kids and traveling around to all the learning stations and experiences as (grand)parent/child combos. That is really interesting to observe. The varying parenting styles alone are worth a documentary film! But watching the church members engage with the kids is even more fascinating and fulfilling. People have such great hearts... they must still have something "childlike" left in them. Some other adults have expressed displeasure over no "adult" offerings and are staying home. Do they have any childlikeness left in them I wonder?
Jesus' disciples had been dealing with adults for a long time and when the little kids came around looking to hang out with Jesus, the disciples tried to keep them away. Jesus was indignant and quick to let the little kids come around and hang out with him (Matt. 19:14; Mark 10:14). Jesus actually got indignant and had to rebuke His disciples telling them to "back off" a little. It seems to me like Jesus was suggesting they might try remembering they once were little kids, too.
Some don't want to mess with kids. They figure they've raised theirs and they've paid their dues. But Jesus said the kingdom of heaven belongs to the likes of kids. Yeah, I know... it blows me away, too!
Playdough snakes that look like a half-eaten bratwurst, just so I can play the way I want to. Little oratory mouths taking over an entire room with extemporaneous speeches. Exaggerations of what my brother did today, followed by fouled Playdough that has to be discarded before the next group comes in because... well, we won't even begin to share the details of that adventure! No wonder Jesus called these little folks close to Him... they're us!
Yeah... I'll speed through my assignments (even still) so I can do what I want to do. I still talk way more than I listen. I'll spend time talking about stuff that really doesn't matter just to make myself feel good. And let's not even talk about the mess I've made out of a lot more stuff than a can of Playdough in my days...
Do we forget so quickly? Maybe we forget because as adults we quit hanging out with kids? Maybe Jesus knew something we have forgotten?
Among these kids though are so many qualities I still want to have, too. There is a genuine eagerness to learn. The ability to instantly make friends and recover enemies if necessary. The willingness to listen and learn even if it comes only in 30 second spurts. The ability to eat cookies and drink lemonade, get it all over you and the kids on both sides of you... and still have it be "good" with everyone! Yep... Jesus was on to something when he talked about the kingdom of heaven belonging to the likes of kids.
We'd do well to not forget how good a fresh can of Playdough feels between our fingers and what it is like to be young again...
2 comments:
Interesting that God provides us a way to revisit our childhood just by smelling familiar scents or tasting a remembered treat. Just reading your post I can "smell" Playdough; a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice transports me back to my grandmother's home in Florida; once while hugging a friend at church, the scent of her perfume brought memories of my mother and tears to my eyes.
I think sometimes we're so 1)busy, 2)prideful, 3)in-charge, 4)self-centered that we do forget what it is like to think as a child. Jesus said in Matt.18:3, "... I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
That statement is reason enough for me to play with a little Playdough, and to examine myself to be sure I still have some 'child' tendancies left inside.
Thanks for the thoughts.
Yes. It is funny how so often we think of just sitting quietly as a waste of time. How often do I have a book in my hand while waiting at a Dr.'s office (or whatever) because I don't want to "waste" time. Perhaps 15 minutes with a can of Playdough and thoughts of God's creation could be wonderfully formative time spent.
Thanks for the comment.
Post a Comment