I saw them huddled around a bush.
They crept sneakily with incredible focus on the task at hand.
Occasionally, they’d break focus and do a little dance, and then go back to stalking the little creatures hidden in the bush.
“I GOT ONE!”
The girls giggled as one showed the other the butterfly captured in her little hand. She then released it, and they stood amazed as the creature floated away. They gazed, they smiled in a lit up kind of way, and then they went on their way to a new bush in the neighbor’s yard to see what creatures were nestled under the greenery.
I love watching kids–they are innocent in ways we too quickly grow out of. And they are joy-filled, energetic little things that are more pure to our design than what adulthood often requires of us. I miss being young–not just because my body reminds me every day that I am on the downward decline; but I also miss the joy-filled innocence that I struggle to remember with the bombardment of chores, tasks, and a culture that degrades versus elevates.
On my walk around a block, my heart lifted by seeing the innocence of these little ones.
When did you last chase butterflies?
Or your version of chasing butterflies…
I guess what I am asking is when was the last time you did something delightful?
When I saw those girls–here are some ingredients that I saw in their little adventure that I think are helpful ingredients as we take note of things to build into our efforts towards delightful rest…
1–They were outside–the sun was bright, the breeze was cool, and they were adventuring in a created world beyond them but for them. Creation does this–right? It takes our eyes up and out–it makes us look beyond ourselves and the tiny space we occupy and see something bigger than us, and yet made for us.
2–It involved adventure–they went out to do something they were not sure they could do. Do you catch a butterfly every time you set out to? No–but is half the fun or maybe 90% of the fun the trying? And within every adventure I have gone on, the most fun stories are the ones I could never plan for–it’s the funny missteps and the feeling of almost getting something and still having energy to try again. Or it’s the hilarious exhaustion of stopping and saying–nope not today. But will try again another day.
3–They were free–it made me giggle to watch them in a span of 10 seconds shift from highly focused sneaking to shaking their booty to music only in their head…and then back to sneaking. Children have this beautiful way of being exactly who they are, and showing how they feel every second of every day and it shifts almost as quickly as it starts. I want to be this free.
4–They had a friend–I do my best adventuring, my most favorite adventuring with friends. Whether catching butterflies or digging in the mud (literally or metaphorically). I prefer having someone by my side, even if we are not talking but co-adventuring together.
My church has recently done a series called Holy Habits, and one of the weeks we discussed Sabbath–intentional rest. As I watched those girls catch butterflies, it propelled me to consider what my version of catching butterflies is. What activities do I enjoy that is sensory-rich, makes me look out and up, allows me to be fully me and challenge myself a little? And who can I bring along? Good thoughts to ponder with the Lord as I find rhythms and ways of rest that allow me to live more innocently and fully in the way God designed me to be.
How about for you? Maybe it’s not catching butterflies–maybe it’s fishing or running or gardening or goodness knows…there are endless possibilities. But praying that you find a way to cultivate a deep soul rest that allows you to look beyond yourself and offers you a dose of vitamin D, a smidge of challenge, a bit of wonder, a splash of laughter and a morsel of friendship. Maybe as we seek it, we will nurture the little one within ourselves that never fully grows up. Maybe we don’t have to fully–at least with the Lord.
xoxo
Crystal
Sincerely, Crystal 