Wordlessly, between tasks and conversations, Pastor Eli handed me a set of dice and gestured that I should roll them. I did. Carefully inspecting my lot, he nodded and told me, with all seriousness: “It’s time to do the chicken dance.” Sometimes, the Spirit nudges you with delight at small gestures of kindness, other times at a well-timed hug or text, and at other times with something that makes you laugh out loud with uninhibited laughter. When was the last time you had a full-bellied laugh? How do you like to play? How do you see the Holy at work in playfulness?
Holy & Unhindered
- Rev. Sarah A. Speed
I am sure it is important to close your eyes, to pray on your knees,
to fling yourself into deep reverence and even deeper humility. I am sure the Spirit is close when we dress up, when we sing the descant line, when we murmur the words with a sincere and hopeful heart.
And I am sure that when you moonwalk through your living room in soft wool socks, when you
cackle loudly enough for the whole restaurant to hear, when you squeal into the phone and
make pancakes for dinner, when you plunge your hands into the dirt and talk to the sparrows,
when you make a mess of Communion breadcrumbs all around the Table, or when you allow
yourself an undone, unhindered, unpolished sort of joy—that the Spirit loves that just as well.
The angel said, Do not be afraid; I am bringing you joy.
We humans have spent a lot of time focusing on the fear.
Don’t forget: God is also in the joy.
May you find a way to play today!