Good morning…
“In Christ’s name we play,” my Freudian slip sparking an avalanche of joy.
After crafting yesterday’s post, The Magic of Play, I watched different forms of play emerge all day. I walked, instead of driving, to the home of a woman new to our Friday class roster, enjoying fresh coffee and conversation. I walk and talked to and from the horse farm with a long-time friend, and together we personalized the Enneagram wisdom from our classes on Mondays. I took a hot bath, letting time melt, before I shared a belated birthday lunch with a forever friend, a friend who studies in our living room semester by semester, a friend who just laid to rest her beloved mother-in-law. I swam laps in the pool of another generous friend, after doing water aerobics during four important phone calls, two uplifting, two excruciatingly hard. As I came home to shop, cook, and enjoy dinner with my husband, our 18-year-old son, and his peaceful girlfriend, funny stories filled the space. We walked our dogs in the dark after dinner before nestling into the sweetness of sleep.
With a playful spirit, I watched joy emerge through talks with friends, outdoor activities, breathing in nature. Then texts and emails trickled in, saying how many of you were playing.
“Dogs teach us a lot about play.”
“Sue, I love taking quiet time to savor your down-to-earth messages each day.”
“I am forwarding this message to hard-driven family members, hoping they too will soak in the benefits of rest and play.”
“I’ve been ‘playing’ by working on our newest wooden puzzle called ‘A Plethora Of Fish’ by Dr. Suess. It’s delightfully delicious wiling away the time with these happy, colorful fish.”
“My sister and I are working on authoring Book 2 at last. It’s been a while since our last creative conversation. This summer was too broken up with trips and events. Fun to look forward to the regularity of fall.”
“So love this post,” a reader wrote from Florida. “I’ve always been one to feel like I NEED to be productive at all moments, and when not, depression sets in and the subsequent anxiety attack. Like, I can’t relax, just beat myself up when ‘bored.’ I pray on this. And I think this society creates such frenzy, as everyone always ‘appears’ to be so darn ‘busy.’ Social media makes it worse, dear Sue, as you know. I pray about this a lot. Tired of feeling like a loser when idle. Just needed to share. I’m at Mayo this morning for a dermatologist appt. I plan to hit the beach shortly and try to just BE.”
“Hi Sue!” one of you wrote. “I loved today’s message – it’s so needed for us over-programmed moms of today! And actually kind of sad that our culture values busyness to the point of exhaustion. Shame on us. But, as a 3 on the Enneagram, I thrive on my to do lists and adore checking things off – HA!”
She continued: “It’s funny your timing because this summer it occurred to me why I love ‘laying in the sun’ so much. I realized it’s the ONLY time I truly ever stop. For some reason, I will allow myself to sit and soak up nature, watch happy kids swimming or jumping waves, playing on kayaks or whatever the scenery is, when I am called to the duty of ‘laying in the sun.’ Hilarious but I love it. And it’s probably because it’s the time when my mind runs free – clear, open, not powering down my lists of to do’s – and slowly flipping the pages of my latest favorite magazines. It’s heaven to me. And likely because of what you said – I’ve stopped and am enjoying doing nothing!!”
And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10, NLT).
…Sue…
P.S. If you live in the area and would like to harness the joy of our LORD with other women, why not consider signing up for a fall class offered through Northside Church? Browse our class descriptions below and reach out to me with any questions.
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Weekly classes begin the week of September 9th.
