I had forgotten the hours of fun my girls had with three green plastic bins until we were moving things in the garage. These bins were big enough to fit a 5- and 7-year-old comfortably as a pretend pool for hours of water fun. With the hose, some cups, and sometimes bubbles, they could enjoy a hot summer afternoon with such innocence, laughter, and imagination. Who needed a big fancy pool when you had green tubs?
So many memories of my childhood and our girls’ summers of playing outside, staying up late to catch fireflies or playing games in the street with the neighborhood kids or having “reading club” in the backyard with a blanket and snacks. No cares in the world and such an innocence in life.
I realize how fortunate we were that summers were carefree and filled with fun. As we got to know the Family Promise families that LOL was home to for a week, my prayer was that these precious children’s summer memories would be of blowing bubbles, sharing popsicles, the awesome playground (or park as they called it), and their dad throwing frisbee with them. Their parents were sheltering and loving them through these summer days even amid their own worries and overwhelming challenges.
It can be so easy to be mired down by the divisions in the world, of unrealized dreams, of financial or medical concerns, and the weight of everyday life. Maybe your summer memories were not as idyllic. Adult concerns or past experiences outweigh the faith and innocence of experiencing life as a child. As people of faith, we can learn something from them. Perhaps, as we pray, grow to trust in God and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, life’s challenges will not seem as insurmountable. We can find faith and assurance in our heavenly Father through childlike faith and wonder. This trust frees us to love others and ourselves as Jesus loves and cares for us.
What can you see this summer through the eyes of a child? What summer memory can you recreate, or can you create a new memory? Can we set aside moments to rest in innocence and delight in God’s creation and even share it with others? Maybe it can’t be a gorgeous, big pool but soaking your feet in a green bucket of hose water or enjoying a popsicle with someone that needs that moment as much as you do.
Praying with you that the child in our hearts finds the rest and wonder of summer days and God’s unending love and grace.
God’s peace always,
Angie Seiller, Director of Faith Formation