Grace and Golden Flowers

Image Source: iStockPhoto

Image Source: iStockPhoto

Jesus called the children to him and said,

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,

for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

– Luke 18:16, 17

Once, while waiting in my car at a nearby elementary school, I witnessed something spectacular! Two little girls walked by my car. One of them exclaimed to the other, “Come here! Let me show you something!” The girls ran ahead to a vacant lot that was covered in yellow flowers. They took off their shoes and began dancing and playing amidst the flowers, smiling and giggling with glee.

I watched as they played, pretending they were fashion models with flowers between their teeth, in their hair, and wrapped like jewelry around their necks and arms. The little girls’ ecstasy was enchanting and exhilarating.

Soon, the twosome was skipping through the flowers and scooping up large handfuls of the blooms and throwing them in the air! At first, my heart broke at the thought of the flowers being yanked up by the roots…I wondered how other little girls could enjoy them? But the field was rich and healthy and I was soothed by the thought that other flowers would grow there. There will be more flowers and more girls and more dances.

Just then, one of the girls plunged headlong onto the ground, as though she couldn’t get close enough to the objects of her joy and delight. She lay there encircled by yellow flowers as her friend threw handfuls of the blossoms over her, showering her with what seemed to be small bursts of sunlight.

As I watched, I wondered…when did I change? When did I stop taking off my shoes? When did I stop skipping? When did I become more afraid of briars and stickers than of boredom? When did picking flowers become sacrilegious? I realized how much I want to recapture that sense of wonder, that joy, that adventure…the child-like heart that plunges into beauty and wallows in the joy it brings.

In Luke 18:16, 17 Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

I believe, in some mysterious way, that those little girls showed me how to receive the kingdom of God…I’m to receive it with reckless abandon, joy, and enthusiasm, putting aside my high and rigorous regard for “rules and regulations” and my desire for the “practical” or “sensible”.

I believe that the Lord is calling me to go barefoot more often and to worry less about stickers, to skip more, to pick more flowers, to smile and giggle more, and share it all with a friend. And I believe that He wants me to desire to be so close to the object of my joy and delight that I plunge myself headlong into His ever open arms.

In His sight, I am a “princess on parade” and His Kingdom has come! I will receive it with joy, gladness and wonder!

Thoughts to Consider:

1. What can you do to recapture that joy and delight in your Savior and the many gifts he has showered on you?

2. What role could joyfully moving your body play? What activity might you do to enjoy moving the marvelous body that God has given you? Turn on some great music and dance in your living room? Jump in your swimming pool and pretend to be a mermaid (or mer-man)? LOL! I used to pretend I was Peter Pan gliding through the air when I was gliding through the water. What might work for you today to recapture that youthful glee?

Work That Body! LOL!

Yesterday’s activity began with a wonderful Dance Praise workout. I enjoyed myself so very much that I kept bee bopping along for an hour and did it at what was a pretty high intensity for me! I just loved praising and worshiping the Lord while moving around on the dance pad!

But after lunch, it was time for me to start moving tons (literally) of gravel with the shovel and the wheelbarrow. I hadn’t planned on my body being fatigued from the gravel moving I did earlier in the week! I was good only for about half the pile…about 3 tons. I literally couldn’t control my arms any more when I decided to stop. Nuts! I was going to finish that today.

Got up, had my quiet time and was going to head out to do gravel when my daughter realized that there was an all day series of tennis clinics available for FREE here in Auburn Lake Trails by a USPTA professional who is the director of tennis at Auburn Racquet Club. Well, when tennis was the love of your younger life, you just can’t let an opportunity like that go by. Not only that, but I have been PRAYING for tennis activities for the kids to come to our neighborhood. We live out in the country and it is a long way to go to find something that works. God has delivered as the professional who came wants to establish a client base out here! How cool!

My family got there just in time for the first event: Adult Cardio Tennis! OH MY GOODNESS! Did I ever get a HUGE workout!!! It was a BLAST! I tell you, I would sign up for that a couple of times a week…but man alive it busted me to pieces! I was huffing and puffing and just about dying. My husband did die, I think. LOL! He had us do drills and run around constantly for 30 minutes and then since no one showed up to do his next clinic–a beginner adult tennis clinic, he gave us 30 more minutes of cardio. That was an HOUR of intense cardio tennis! I CAN’T GET OVER HOW MUCH FUN IT WAS! LOL!

So after that, I was going to go home and work on the gravel…but no way. I was shot. 🙂 We had just enough time to eat lunch and then grabbed the kids and hauled them back to the courts so THEY could do a middle school/high school clinic and then a junior cardio tennis class. WOW! They BOTH were surprised at the fun they had.

The professional was Marsh Riggs. I was impressed with his skill with tennis, but beyond that at the way he was so incredibly affirming. No matter what he wanted the kids to do (or the adults) and even the littler kids (I watched him with 6 – 12 year olds), he was positive, encouraging, affirming. He moved things quickly, but taught a LOT in a short time. I was blown away that he would give of his time freely. Yes, I know it is to build a client base, but some would attempt to do this charging a fee to start. He let us see what kind of teacher he was. Definitely skilled as a teacher and a pretty nice human.

At the end of the afternoon, he and his son who is the #2 player at Placer High as a sophomore, did a demo of playing out points. It was very cool. I also loved to see the positive way they interacted. He is a coach I would LOVE for even my autistic son to have in his life…and Michaela loved him too. BOTH kids are interested in lessons when Marsh starts them up here in May.

Boy, I had forgotten how much I love tennis! I think I have to return to playing again! What a BLAST! I also made two new friends–women I will play with…the first is this Wednesday at 7pm. COOL!