St. Helen’s Daily Lenten Devotional
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.
1 John 3:1
What does it mean to be childlike? It has nothing to do with maturity or immaturity but rather more about the nature of trust, before the world’s knocks have battered that quality.
But surely to be childlike is also to embrace playfulness? And playfulness is not defined as being on a sport’s team, or telling jokes(especially ‘Dad Jokes’), or even being ‘fun’. Is it not the attribute of being lighthearted? That may been a challenge for us, as adults, to maintain. Responsibilities, a heavy work load, difficult relationships, illness, financial struggles, pandemics…These day to day realities don’t lend themselves to an honest ‘glass in almost full’ mentality! Recent conversations have suggested that we are sick and tired of people saying that they are ‘fine’ when they aren’t or even signing off with ‘Hang in there!’. The sentiments are valid. Who really wants to describe the roller coaster of these days, especially when there are others in far more dire situations? And while we want to offer encouragement to ‘Keep the faith!’ we really don’t know how the next few months will unfold.
Perhaps remembering that we are all children of God, and created to be playful, simply means being open to the world around us and mindful of the presence of God. The One who fashioned our feathered friends in all their vibrant glory, and ladybugs, and platypus’s, and Venus flytraps, and sea cucumbers, and us, among ‘all things bright and beautiful’, with playfulness and humour, has given us ‘the gift of joy and wonder’ in all God’s works. Be open to God-given moments: enjoy colour, light, scents, tastes, sounds…let your imagination soar, think creatively…play!