“When was the last time you were carefree?” The question jumped out at me. I had a great answer bubble up from the depths of my not all that distant memory.
A couple years ago my friend Kathy K and I went on an afternoon hike. It was a golden brown, orange, red and yellow autumn day. We hiked from one end of the riverbed valley to the other. The sun warmed our faces and it was one of those days that just FEELS SO GOOD!
Later in the afternoon, we wandered around the reed bed. Usually a wetland, the ground was now dry. We took advantage of it. As we strolled, I said, “I’ve always wondered what the tops of the reeds feel like – you know – they look like fat hot dogs!”
Kathy stepped closer to one and ran a finger over it, “so have I. It’s not smooth, but not really rough, either”. I moved to the one by me and gingerly touched it, then lightly rubbed it. I pulled my hand away as it started to unravel. Surprise!
We stared at it and then at each other. Both of us reached out both hands and rubbed the reeds in front of us. They completely unraveled and turned into a cotton ball kind of substance. It floated on the breeze and we rubbed the next one and the next one.
“I didn’t know these would do this!” “Look how much stuff I’m getting from this one!” “There’s more on this one!” “This one is LOADED!”
Pretty soon we were dancing through the reeds and giggling with little girl delight as reeds billowed out from our palms. Fluff was everywhere: in the air, on the ground, in our hair, on our clothes. Still we ran from one dead plant to another, rubbing reeds and chasing fluff.
What a great day! Frivolous? Could there be any eternal value in it? I could swear I heard my Heavenly Father laughing a great belly laugh as He watched His little girls playing. Neither of us will ever forget that simple day.
Why must we leave joy behind when we are grownups? No one would have suspected us of such play the next day as we went to our responsible jobs, handled complicated procedures, and interacted with clients.
“Then David danced before the Lord with all his might…” II Samuel 6:14a.
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