Summer Meditation

 

Jesus called the disciples back. “Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” (Luke 18:16-17).

 

On Mother’s Day in worship, we heard the words above of Jesus inviting us to embrace the fullness of our child-like wonder, awe, curiosity.  And with Father’s Day yesterday, it is appropriate to circle back to these invitational, important words.  Remember there is a distinction between being childish (which is throwing temper tantrums when we don’t get our way, hurting others without regard, and wanting to be the center of the universe.  If you think, “When do adults act that way?”  I present Exhibit A ~ social media and I will rest my case).  Truth is, that we can act childish in church too ~ we can threaten to take away our membership, participation, funding if we don’t get our way.  There is a way to stand up for values, without issuing ultimatums.  On Sunday, I talked about the containers of our life.  There is the story you tell yourself.  This story was not created in a vacuum, but there are forces that shaped you and shaded the way you understand the world.  To start with, think back to your childhood ~ did you live with both your parents or one parent or your grandparents?  Who were the family members that you interacted with most frequently?  Where did you live ~ in the country or city?  How might the soil of that place still be in your soul?

 

I grew up with both my parents, my brother, and my material grandmother who lived with us.  My grandma Griem often watched my brother and I while my parents were at work.  I remember being close to my grandma.  She wore a dress and apron every day.  She had shelves of plants that grew in the big bay window of our dining room and her rocker that sat right next to that indoor green space.  She and I would watch “All My Children,” every single day when I wasn’t in school.  Looking back, perhaps not exactly the best viewing for an impressionable young lad.  My uncle and aunt lived nearby; we saw them at least one a week ~ usually at church.  Otherwise, we didn’t have a large extended family.  Growing up in Iowa, that left a lingering impression on me.  The green beans, grapes, carrots, tomatoes, and radishes we harvested from the garden in the backyard nourished my body and shaped my soul.  I grew up having to “earn my keep,” something that continues to linger (sometimes in unhelpful ways) in the back of my mind. 

 

I wonder, what stories of your childhood are starting to awaken in the cobwebbed corners of your soul?  What is inside that box labeled, “childhood memories” that you have not opened for years?  Take time today to look back on the people, places, messages, events and experiences that formed and fashioned you.  As always, I would love to hear the life lessons that still ring true from the place you first called, “home”.  May God, whose first, last, and middle name for you is, “Beloved,” be with you as you climb in the time capsule called, “your life” today.