Matthew 6:25
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
A few years ago, our family, who reside in Florida and New Hampshire planned a vacation to meet at Jekyll Island, Georgia for a week. Before we left on this vacation, I bought a few items I knew would be needed, SAND TOYS. For $10, I walked away with two plastic buckets, a noodle, a small football, and a blue and white plastic boat. The boat was a hit with Evan, the noodle with Amy; Matt tossed the football with his granddad and Emily built sand castles with the buckets.
Grandparents know the value of low-tech toys. In the movie Parental Guidance, Billy Crystal and Bette Midler were grandparents, called to care for their three grandchildren while their daughter and son-in-law went away on a convention/vacation. The kids had every electronic device imaginable and lived in a “Smart House” which announced who was coming or going through the doors, what temperature the thermostat was set at; the time the coffee machine was to come on and the oven to pre-heat.
Everything was pre-programmed.
Pre-programmed gadgets are supposed to support our lifestyle but can cause stress when we are not “living up or getting with the program.” In one scene, the grandparents invited the kids outside for a game of kickball. Two of the children went but the oldest grandson, who suffered from stuttering, held back, watching and analyzing whether it was a good use of his time.
Jesus had something to say about “using our time wisely” he said: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, there is need of only one thing and Mary has chosen more wisely.” Well, if that isn’t a kick…. Mary was sitting (Being) and Martha was moving (doing). We need both activities in life, but the consciousness behind the “doing” must be clear.
When we are doing life in a consciousness of Pre-programming, we are missing out on the joy the activity brings us. We have forgotten that every THING, high or low-tech is like a SAND TOY and the value is in the joy the child experiences when the toy is being used.
Spontaneous joy cannot be pre-programmed. Joy is in the living!
Blessings, Rev Janice
