What freedom!
What joy!
What love!
Yesterday the children and I did 3 miles of sprints/jogging. As we were finishing our mile running up and down our street, Jackson arrived home on his bike cheering us on as he rode past us.
Jackson had just finished running 4 miles at track practice and then rode his bike 9 1/2 miles home. He went straight inside after he arrived. As we turned around for our final stretch back to the house, Jackson came back outside carrying a table, speakers with energizing music blasting, a pitcher of Gatorade, and a stack of glasses for us. Oh my goodness! How sweet!
I really was beat. (Tyson clearly was too!!) We all had red faces! I hadn't run sprints that fast in years, and my legs felt as if they were going to crumble at any moment. Seeing that sweet Jackson with his Gatorade stand made me finish harder.
As Juliana and Jayden danced their hearts out to the music, Jackson smiled and said, "This is what they do for the runners after the big races."
I realized that Jackson probably would have loved to have had a glass of Gatorade waiting for him after his long bike rides home. Instead of wishing I had done it for him, he took that knowledge and did it for us instead.
In our nighttime devotional, we all talked about the Golden Rule:
Matthew 7:12 "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."
Jackson displayed a perfect example of that, and it blessed us all.
I thought about this further…. What keeps me from having that childlike heart? What keeps me from rolling in the sand? What keeps me from setting up a Gatorade stand? I think it's those darn inhibitions!!
Some of my favorite memories of my mom growing up were the moments when she cast all those inhibitions to the wind! I remember her putting on fairy wings and dancing, leaping, and bounding through the house like a fairy!! Oh we all laughed so hard.
There are a lot of serious sadnesses in this life. There really are. Sometimes they crush us to pieces… and we need to take that time to mourn… but our entire lives do not need to be in that state of mourning. I feel like the older we get, the more pains we hold onto. I want to spend more time freeing my spirit so I can enjoy the vibrance of life that God put into our souls when we were born!!
I mean… why not wear glitter hats and spend time kissing and chillin' with bunny rabbits? (Also part of the activities in one day.:-))
What a life this is and what a life it can be!!!
…even for us old folks!!
God wants us to just go ahead and have a good time—the best possible! The only earthly good we can look forward to is to eat and drink well and have a good time, which is compensation for the struggles we have these few years God gives us on earth. What a blessing that He gives us things to enjoy while we travel this earthly place.
ReplyDelete"Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun." Ecclesiastes 8:15
Thank you so much for your insight and for the great scripture you shared. It's beautiful to remember that God gave us so many amazing things in this life to ENJOY. :-) I work, work, work so hard, and it is so refreshing when I LET GO and allow myself to play hard as well. :-)
DeleteOh, how good it is to have your writing and insight to inspire, teach, and bless lives! Thank you for helping me to smile this morning, and for helping my thoughts as I ponder on some challenges in our lives right now. Thank you for sharing your light!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words. I'm so happy to hear from you, and I pray the Lord will continue to guide your moments of pondering. Have a beautiful weekend! :-)
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