You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.    –Plato

The inevitable arrival of summer is waiting only steps away. I know that I need to get ready for summertime, but I find that I am dragging my heels. Actually, I am kicking and screaming, holding on to the doorframe and trying to find a way to make Spring last a little longer. The rains may have been excessive this year, but I still prefer the moderate temperatures of springtime over summertime in Texas!

One of the things I always miss the most about spring is the FUMC Hurst Day School children. The end of the school year means the children are out for the summer. My office space is upstairs on the west side of the building. During the school year, I can look outside when the children are out on the playground. My favorite thing is hearing them squeal at the top of their lungs. It reminds me of that feeling from my childhood. I loved the swings on our swing-set. I imagined that, if I could just go a little higher, I could make it completely over the top of the swing-set and back around!

All of this reminds me of a story my mother told me about the first swing-set I had when I was about 3 years old. Mama said that an older man lived alone next door. One day she was in the backyard hanging laundry on the clothesline and the neighbor was out in his yard. He said to my mother, “Ma’am, it just scares me to death watching your little girl on that swing. She goes so high! I just do not know what to do.” To which my mom replied, “I would suggest that you don’t watch her.”

At first examination, it sounds like my mother was unconcerned about my safety. Knowing her as well as I did, though, I am sure that there was something else behind her mode of parenting. I believe my mother knew that it was extremely important for me (and my four brothers that would follow) to experience the joy of living life to the fullest. She wanted me to feel the wind in my face, and the rush in my tummy, as I reached higher and then descended.

Living life aware and fully present requires intentionality. I will strive daily to live with an awareness of every lovely thing in creation and of every perfectly imperfect individual I meet.

And this summer I will choose to live from the place where God meets my soul, and I will squeal with delight! (In the Texas heat…)  

Run through a sprinkler, or
roll down a hill, or
swing on a swing, or
play in sand, or—you know what to do.
 -Terry Hershey