Sunday, November 12, 2017

Play saves our souls

Song of Songs 2:8-17 & Psalms 150:1-6 by Rev. Susan Lukey
Series:A Journey with Time

I believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am passionate about living the Way that Jesus taught, finding ways to love neighbours and those perceived as enemies, welcoming strangers and deepening my love for God. I am committed to following the Way of Jesus day by day, and letting that sink deeper and deeper into who I am, transforming me, and hopefully transforming the world. I am passionate and committed to the Good News of Jesus Christ ---and that can be exhausting. For you, for me – all of us committed in our love for Jesus and his Way. Therefore, I hereby give you permission to delight, to play, to enjoy life! Think about it – how often do we promise ourselves that we will do something we really enjoy, once we have our work done. And then, the list is usually so long, that we never get to that part. We just keep working and working. We create a wonderful meal, a beautiful event, put our whole hearts in, and then we go on to the next thing on the list, never delighting in what has been. Now, I’m not against hard work. I know that it is necessary. But the truth is that we need a balance of work and play. That is the wisdom of the book of Ecclesiastes with which we started our fall season. What I see in our society is that we are working harder and longer hours. I see this happening with our children as well. Lunch time and recesses are getting shorter in some schools. After school is filled with homework and activities. Weekends have their schedules. And all of this is work, not play. It might be enjoyable for some, but it is not play. Let me explain. We need play for our emotional and spiritual well-being. We need play to process what we have learned and experienced. We need to play in times of joy and times of sorrow. What do I mean by play, you’re wondering? Play is not outcome based. It does not have purpose or goals set for it. It is not structured, though it does happen in a way that no one will get hurt (emotionally or physically). Play is not for real. It is engaging and spontaneous. It can not be taught. It does not have consequences. It is a time to explore and wonder and try out possibilities.
Duration:12 mins 32 secs