Playing Outside

"Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body" Ephesians 4:25

Next to youngest grandson is here to spend a week "all by his self with no sisters!" as he explains it. He does keep us on our toes. His six year old energy has both sweetheart and I falling into bed in exhaustion each night, wondering how on earth we kept up with boys when we were younger. He is at full throttle until the moment his head hits the pillow.

I am slightly saddened by the fact that children, especially boys, these days do not have the freedoms that we had when we were younger. Gone are the days when kids were shooed out the door at daybreak and hauled back in only when the streetlights came on. You no longer hear a screen door creak open as a mom yells out into the night that "it's time for bed. Your mother called and said to get your behind home right now!"

I remember days spent rushing around between houses, playing army, cowboys and indians, and if we were lucky, climbing up the rope swing of that cool tree house our friends had in their back yard. Yards were places filled with sprinklers or swing sets or best of all, a tire swing to soar towards the heavens in. Lunch was served by whichever mom had the most energy, hopefully a mom who knew how to make cool peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches with the crust cut off. Koolaid was the beverage of choice, filled with sugary goodness that gave you more energy for the next round of playing.

Today sweetheart and I find ourselves searching the computer for something to "entertain" our grandson with. If there are boys in our neighborhood, I have never seen them. I don't even know if there are families with young children around as people jump in their cars, scurrying off to who knows where to keep their children busy. Or worse, their kids are inside the house, spending hours on video games or tv shows that fill their young minds with garbage. Even at the community pool, parents are herding their kids around, careful to keep them away from other kids who might actually want to play with them or from other parents who might smile at them and heaven forbid offer them some snacks.

Has your christian walk become something that is hidden away from the world? Do you stay inside, reading your Bible study or surfing devotional sites on the internet? When is the last time you went outside and got "dirty" in God's work? Have you volunteered at the food bank lately? Offered to rake your elderly neighbors yard? Washed the windows of that single mom who barely has enough time to go from one job to another? Have you shared the gospel with your neighbors (if you even know who your neighbors are!) and shown them what His Love really looks like?

I know that I am as guilty as everyone else in that I am loathe to leave the comfort of my house for the oftentimes uncomfortable places that God asks me to go. It is not as much fun being friends as it was when I was six. But God calls us to get dirty in His work, get busy with His message, and share snacks with the hungry, whether they are hungry for worldly food or "heavenly" food.

Dearest Father God, We are grateful  for all that You have blessed us with. We thank You that we live in such a blessed nation, giving us more than we ever deserve. Open our hearts up to share all that we have with those who have so little. Help us to find friends to share Your message with. Show us where we need to get down and dirty today. Show us the needs of those around us, especially right next to where we hide ourselves away. Let our work be 7 days a week and not just on Sunday. Let our work be real and physical, not with just a check written. We love You Father and we ask Your blessings on us this day and every day. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen

copyright2012 Michelle Welch, Breath of Life Women's Ministries
photography by Michelle Welch, all rights reserved
 scriptures from NLT Bible