The answer to the question in the title of this post is:
Nothing, as far as I can tell.
But kind of, maybe…
Here’s what got me thinking. It was Maggie’s Facebook status update recently:
And then there was this picture that Katy sent after the muddy Warrior Dash race.
And both of these made me think of a great book I’m reading by Bob Goff called Love Does, Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World.
Bob is a guy who has an office on Tom Sawyer island at Disneyland where he “conspires with people, where immense capers have been launched, and where whimsy runs wild.”
To connect the dots, Maggie, Katy, and Bob are all tapping into the crazy delight that I believe God meant for us to enjoy.
Perhaps we get caught up in making the stuff of love and joy too hard and intense. Maybe we’re taking ourselves too seriously.
Maybe the Bible doesn’t say anything about buying a Polar Bear, but it has a lot to say about joy and love and the fact that Jesus came so that we might have life in all its abundance.
I try to share a practice or a resource on Spirit Stretch Fridays, so today the resource I’m suggesting is Love Does. And the practice I’m suggesting is, “lighten up”.
Buy pizza for a construction crew. Cannonball into a lake. Forget yourself and dance. Get muddy. Jump on a plane and go visit a friend in need of a hug.
Or maybe look into buying a Polar Bear.
What’s something crazy or delightful you’ve done lately to celebrate God’s goodness, or love someone with abandon?
Love this! 🙂
My sister, a neighbor friend, and I all took our kids (7 total all under 7) to the arboretum and found a woodsy path and said “go”. We had a great time hiking through the woods and enjoying the little ones’ exploration! I need more crazy and delight in my life. Don’t get me wrong – life is good. But I need to quit worrying about “getting stuff done” and just play with the kids, especially since it’s summer break! I’ll work on that this next week!
Good for you Becca!! The thought I have the most when I reflect on the years when the girls were little is “Why was I usually in such a hurry to move on to the next thing? Why didn’t I spend more time just sitting and examining caterpillars indefinitely?” 🙂 Enjoy the wonder of summer with your little ones!
Just got back from a fishing trip with Dad and Brother Cris. No, it wasn’t our usual Canada trip where the fish (seem to) jump in the boat. It was a northern Minnesota lodge our Dad took us to when we were kids. It is probably the only Minnesota fishing lodge that hasn’t changed in the last 45 years…housekeeping cabins, pine beamed ceilings in the restaurant/bar, boats to rent, etc…real simple.
The highlight of the trip was not the fishing…we didn’t catch anything! Well, almost didn’t catch anything. The highlight for the three of us was simply sitting in the shade on one of the many islands, soaking up the blue sky and water, white puffy clouds, and emerald green pine forests and enjoying nothing at all but the company of each other and the beauty of God’s creation we take for granted all too often.
Thanks, Laura for reminding us that it is times like THAT, that are truly meaniingful.
You do a GREAt job delighting!
This is a treasure, Laura. You’re absolutely right — love and joy doesn’t have to be serious all the time. I think we sometimes instinctively love with serious faces as Christians and God didn’t intend for it all to be straight-faced. Thank you thank you for this important reminder!!
Thank so much, Sarah!
I have a 47-year friend who lives in St Louis and who has the potential to drive me crazy, but she’s a sweetheart, generous, and sometimes absolutely nuts. We don’t see each other often, but ours is a friendship that picks up where it left off last time, usually with a good laugh. Like me, she’s lost her husband recently. The problem is she seems to live in fear: bacteria, muggings, highway robbery, flying, hotel break-ins, bed bugs, etc, etc, etc.
I’m planning a road trip to the east coast to visit a couple that both Joan and I were close to back in college days, and I’m passing through St Louis, and in fact, would ask to spend a night or two with her. I’ve thought about asking her to ride with me, but…. There are so many ways why her fear might spoil my free-wheeling adventures.
So, for some reason, until tonight (6/11) your Polar Bear post would not load (no explaining the mysteries of the laptop), as I’m putting in some serious time planning my trip, and I just can’t make the timing work out. My itinerary becomes more complicated trying to coordinate the couple’s activities, July 4th celebrations, and all the places to visit in between here…and back again. Your phrase “Jump on a plane and go visit a friend in need of a hug” leaped off the page. If I ask her to go with me, if I reduced this epic journey to just two weeks, if I even just invited her to spend the time with me, it could be life-changing for both of us.
Thanks for the nudge. I’ll let you know how Love Does.