Spring Wonder

Is it spring where you are?

We have had some teaser days but nothing to consistently feel like spring weather even though the calendar officially says it so. But we do see more outdoor activities: more and more folks are out walking or jogging; children are riding bicycles, scooters and skateboards. Every day the daffodils grow a little taller or open a little wider depending upon their sun placement and every time I walk the dog, I’ll see yet another potted tulip placed on someone’s front steps.

It reminds me that we all long to be outside and in nature- in whatever form that might take. We all know or have heard that being out doors is good for our physical, emotional, mental and even spiritual health. I thought it is interesting that even “The American Bar Association, the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), and the Association for the Prevention of Torture all recommend a minimum of one hour outdoors daily, weather permitting, as part of minimum humane standards for detention and incarceration.” Being outdoors is a criteria of humane standards.

For children, being outdoors and engaging in physical activity are inextricably linked. According to the World Health Organization, children need between one to three hours of outdoor play a day. It can be in the form of smaller increments but the point is that they need to be outside and playing- preferably free form and a non-organized form of play. Organized sports are wonderful but there is something intrinsic and soul-satisfying if one gets to play and explore the natural world unencumbered with any type of agenda. It provides wonder.

Recently the local radio station was speaking to an author, Thor Hanson about his new book, Close to Home. In it, he talks about retraining our senses to reveal hidden natural wonders- many in our own backyards. If we slow down and open our eyes, we will see the beauty and wonder of the world, right at our fingertips.

It made me think about my relationship with being outdoors. I love being outside. Although, when the weather is damp, cold or rainy, I may not be so anxious to be there. Yet, I am really trying to practice the adage, “It’s not bad weather. I am just inappropriately dressed.” and to try and be comfortable by appropriate dress in whatever the climate situation may be. There are some days when I have been holed up in my office that I start to feel just a little bit claustrophobic. I go outside, see the wide expanse of the sky and the sunlight on the water and feel so much better. In a strange and paradoxical way, the vastness of the world around me puts my worries and issues into perspective: I am not the only thing in the world, yet I have the blessing to be part of this beautiful existence.

Still, in the spring, I get anxious for all that I need to do, especially outdoors. Instead of enjoying the gardening and being in awe of new life and creation, I become very dogmatic in having to do certain actions. I forget to slow down and observe.

Year ago, we watched a series called: For the Life of the World: Letters to the Exile. My husband had seen it first through a men’s retreat. There are seven episodes- Exile, Love, Creative Service, Order, Wisdom, Wonder and Church- all to help one gain insight into being in the world but not of it. What always struck my husband was when the men reviewed their time and what were some take-aways and likes, almost all felt that the episode on wonder was so important and what was lacking in their lives.

I can relate.

What about you? Do you have “play dates” in your calendar? What can you do this spring to get outside more? How can you bring more wonder into your life?

What I like about being outdoors is that, if we keep our eyes open, we will see wonder all around us. As Mr. Hanson describes in his book, one doesn’t have to travel very far to see fantastic and interesting things in nature. We just need to get outside and “play”.

"Jesus Loves the little children"

Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Whether yellow, black or white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children.

Jesus Loves the Little Children" may have been a song you sang or heard being sung when you were a child. While the racial descriptions might not be the best choice of words, the sentiment that Jesus loves ALL is there.

As a church we have been studying the Gospel of Luke, and a couple of Sundays past we read the passage of Luke 18: 15-17 “and He said to them, “whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but welcomes Him who sent me.”

We talked about this passage- what does it mean to welcome children? Children in those days were outcasts; completely vulnerable and powerless. Certainly not the way we revere children today. Though even in some countries and cultures today, children do not have the recognition that we have come to expect in this country. I remember being with my sister in West Africa. When families had limited food and money, cooked rice was given to the men, any remaining sludge was given to the women and then the children. No wonder that the children were starving.

So for Jesus to single out a vulnerable powerless child was societal norm breaking. (He does the same thing with any underdog - women, lower cast peoples, etc.) He reminds us time and time again that He came to save the lost, to protect the vulnerable and give voice to the powerless. He wants us to do the same.

It does beg the questions both figuratively and literally- how do we welcome the child? First of all- who is “this child”? Who are the vulnerable and powerless in our society? In our surrounding areas? How do we welcome the children in our lives? Whether we have biological ones nearby or not? How do we listen and embrace those who are not on our “social” level?

I have been thinking about the children/youth that I know. At this point in my life, I am not surrounded by too many youngsters. While I enjoy children and youth, I am not seeking them out. For one, if there is not a natural, organic relationship, it might be “creepy” to the neighbors if I wanted to hang out with their kids.

Yet, I cannot help but think about our society’s imbalance with youth. In some ways we over glorify youth and the physical aspects of maintaining youthful looks and not appearing to age. We glorify and idolize youth too much. But I do not think we take children as seriously as we should. We do not truly listen to the youth. We easily dismiss them as lazy, unreliable, and entitled. Still, there are things to be learned from younger generations.

I especially think of Greta Thunberg the seventeen-year-old Swedish climate activist. The little I have read, heard and seen about Greta, I am impressed and hopeful for our future. What started as just a simple act of protesting “School Strike for Climate” in her native Sweden has led an increased global awareness of climate change. Here is a girl who is willing to stand up for what she believes. She is not shaken even when certain powerful global leaders bully and question her.

I have been impressed by Millennials and Generation Z’s who are thinking about questions of lifestyle: do I need to have all the “stuff” my parents and/or grandparents did, what does success mean, what is the purpose of my life and my career/life choices? Their self-assuredness and deep thinking is encouraging.

I have also learned from the figuratively vulnerable of society: resilience, humor, grace, guts, humility. Once again in God’s economy of the world- when we welcome others in obedience and response to welcoming Him, we learn and become the welcomed ones.

What about you? How are you at welcoming “children”? At the vulnerable, powerless? If you have, what lessons have you learned or seen?