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Picnics, Tents, and Slip-n-Slide

Now that the longest day of the year has come and gone it really feels like summer. To come to our church on almost any day of the week it truly looks like summer too. Three tents have been put up on the church lawn. We had them put up so that they could be used for Vacation Bible School (btw—VBS was a huge success), but it was too rainy of a weekend for them to be used for that purpose. They have, however, been used almost every day since then. The kids from the day care and summer camp program of our Children’s Ministries have been using them for outdoor play times and picnic lunches.

It is really fun to watch the children outside with their lunches having a good time as the breeze blows and temperatures rise. Our church property has never been blessed with shade (I should have planted trees 10 years ago), so the tents make for some absolutely necessary shade for the little guys.

 
The other day they were doing a painting project out there and slopped paint all over. No big deal. A bit of action with the garden hose and it is all taken care of. I also watched the kids use a soap solution to make bubbles. While from the study I could not hear what they were saying, I could tell by watching their faces that they were having a great time out there.

The crowning moment was the day deemed as “water day.” On this particular day a sprinkler was placed on the far lawn and the kids ran and played in that sprinkler as child love to do. That was delightful, but it was mild compared to what happened when the slip-n-slide came out. Do you know what a slip-n-slide is? I wish they had made them when I was a kid! It is a long sheet of plastic that is sprinkled with water the whole length. Kids run and jump onto the thing and the combination of water and plastic make it slippery. Wow, the kids had a great time!!

There is this little part of me that want to try it. Now, I know that a man my size should never appear in a bathing suit, but still there is this kid inside that wants to try. I don’t think it is about getting wet or doing the sliding or the slipping—were I to try I sure I would hurt for days and days following the experience. I think that desire to do this is more about the reaction that I see in the kids as they slip, slide, picnic, blow bubbles, and make chalk drawings on the sidewalk.

It is obvious they are delighted. I want some of that delight for myself. I also want some of that for you too! I’m convinced that we take ourselves way more seriously than we should. We miss out on the incredible joy that God longs to give us when we don’t relax, enjoy, and delight in creation.

I urge to get outside and enjoy a picnic, sit out in the shade, do an outdoor project—get out there! If none of that works, let me know and maybe I can work it out that you come to Good Shepherd the next time we have water day—you’ll be slippn’ and slidin’ !!