"Play is foundational for bonding relationships and fostering tolerance. It’s where we learn to trust and where we learn about the rules of the game. Play increases creativity and resilience, and it’s all about the generation of diversity—diversity of interactions, diversity of behaviors, diversity of connections. ” - Isabel Behncke What might *play* foster in our relationships with God and each other? Especially if you are someone who did not spend a lot of time in play as a child, how might leaning into play—with God—now heal some things that may not have developed fully back then? If you are a person who struggles to trust, or feel some insecurity in your relationship with God (or others), consider intentionally playing as a way of finding new paths deeper into that friendship. Does God enjoy when you play? When you release yourself from all the expectations on your time and behavior and productivity to explore new, freer, more childlike ways of being in the world? Jesus tells us to become like children, and perhaps this is one aspect of that—letting ourselves be children-at-play in God’s presence. So, if you are feeling drawn to this (or—tellingly—resistant toward it!), lean in. Explore. Play. Experiment. See what happens.

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2022-07-06 13:56:24 UTC