Sledding With God

Working through grief is emotionally, spiritually and physically exhausting! Rest is good and this is our reminder. Sometimes that 'rest' comes in the form of play. I love how my friend Cindy discovered that this past week. Please enjoy visiting her blog, and maybe even her retreat house, Prairie Pond Woods, or friend her on Facebook.
May God grant you rest this weekend. Me? I've got today off. Think I'll go get the mail.

♥ ferree

Sledding With God

After zipping up my big snow boots, hoisting on my thick winter coat and cloaking my hands with rag wool gloves, I went out to get the mail. I decided to take a little walk around just to see if there was anything new and get some much-needed exercise. I looked at the buds on twigs and stood still for just a few minutes with my eyes closed to hear the Morse code of the nuthatch and other sweet songs of birds at mid-day. The cold was refreshing on my face but a deep breath was almost too much to take in.

On my way up towards the road, I noticed a vibrant color, like hunter's orange, sticking out from beneath the snow. When I tugged at it, a large, plastic bird food bag emerged. It was very shiny and slick. At that point I also noticed it was at the top of a steep part of our yard. So I asked myself, "What hinders me?" Down I plopped and away I went! Got up and did it two more times, laughing heartily with each roll into the snow at the end. It may have been more fun if someone else had been there, but I cherished the strong sense of God's presence in that the solitary, playful moment. "Where can I go from your presence?" the Psalms ask. Nowhere, is the implied answer.

We often associate the presence of God with giving comfort, or providing help or wanting to control bad behavior. But what if we want to just play? Or be silly? Or just stand somewhere quietly and offer a grateful prayer for all the goofiness in life? I think God delights in that. "Be as little children..." And as YouTube confirms, parents love watching their children play and be silly.

So, next time you go get the mail...take a playful detour with God and see what happens.