Still a Kid at Heart

There she is — our classical pianist daughter, now in her late twenties, not embarrassed to hula hoop in public. (Shawn, I’ll be awaiting your profuse thanks for not posting the picture of your hula hoop antics!) One of our stops on our summer getaway was Silver Dollar City, an 1880s craft village and theme park smack-dab in the hills of Missouri (gotta talk like a hillbilly when mentioning SDC!), and this is where Kristin got her groove on and proved that she’s still got the moves. Waist, knees, ankles, arms — I think she hula-hooped every part of her body except her neck :)

I’m happy to say that our grown-up Kristin is still a kid at heart. She’s not afraid to let loose and have some fun when the opportunity presents itself. Whether attempting to be the family winner on the shoot-out ride at Silver Dollar City, getting in on some sparkler action on the 4th of July, or battling with her sister when they’re home for Christmas over who will move the mouse on our count-down calendar, Kristin still loves to indulge in some of the simple pleasures of being a kid.

We could all take a lesson from Kristin, in fact, and just have fun being kids every once in awhile. I have to admit I didn’t even think of trying to hula hoop the other day or wave a sparkler on the 4th. I guess I just had fun watching my twenty-something kids be kids again. I do rise to the occasion every now and then, though. On the 4th, I joined in and played catch in the yard and even showed off a batting prowess that surprised my whole family :) Come to think of it, during our family reunion in May, the girls and I rode the teacups in the kids’ area at Silver Dollar City for old times’ sake. And you know what? It was fun being a kid again. Makes me wonder why I don’t do it more often…

In our spiritual lives, I bet God would love to see us be like kids with Him more often, too. Coming to Him for everything, being at rest in Him, trusting Him completely, enjoying being with Him — just like little ones have always done with their parents. Scripture tells us that Jesus welcomed children. He said, “‘Let the little children come to me…’ And he took the children in his arms…and blessed them.” (Mark 10:14, 16 NIV). What better place to be than in the arms of God?

Are you still a kid at heart? When was the last time you ate the center first out of an oreo cookie — or crawled up into the lap of your Heavenly Father and let Him soothe your fears? Let’s let loose and give it a try. Let’s be kids again.

**Thought I would run this FYI again to make sure everyone has a chance to see it. I have changed the comment options for the blog. You don’t have to be “registered” with a password now (unless you want to) in order to leave a comment. Under the “choose an identity” section, you can simply click “Name/Url” and just leave your name. This should make it easier for those of you who don’t want to set up an account. Give it a try. I’d love to know who’s out there!

Comments

  1. Cheryl,

    Just wait until you have grandkids and you will really start doing kids things again. :) I can see it now.

  2. Yes, Debbie, I imagine I will be quite a sight with grandchildren :) You should see me with my 1-2 yr. old Sunday School kids. I imagine I’m the silliest teacher our nursery department has ever had :)

  3. Cheryl, It sounds like you had a great vacation. Sometimes it’s nice to let our worries go and be a kid again. I bet you all were a sight in the teacups!

    Now, why do you say you’re the silliest sunday school teacher? Doesn’t every teacher “march” and “shoot the artillery?” Ha Ha!

  4. It’s hard for me to believe that our children have grown-up so fast, especially when I’m asked
    frequently, “When are you going to
    grow up?” Jesus had many things to
    say concerning children. Because he
    spoke about chidren so much, they
    must be very dear to him. He wants
    all Christians to be child-like, in that he wants us to love Him, trust Him, and rely on Him. But,
    just as our children have matured, He wants His children to mature as Christians. That’s the part that’s difficult. But, if an adult can put on a Hula Hoop and act like a child, with God’s help, a child of God can mature into the Christian adult that He wants you to become.

  5. The last comment is great and I think it is easier to be like a kid than be like an adult, whether in regular life or your Christian walk with the Lord. Maturity in Christ is something I hope to have someday, and in regular life I still feel like the same old kid I’ve always been. I’m not sure I’ll ever grow up! :) Thankfully my husband joins me in the fun, and I’m glad my parents are young at heart to show me how to continue to have fun, like always.

    (We’re taking our oldest nephew to SDC this weekend, and looking forward to getting lots of play time, and hopefully we’ll even go to the ice circus show since no one wanted to go with me last visit!)

  6. Lisa, you have seen me at my silliest in Sunday School — thanks for being willing to join in :)

    Don & Kristin, thanks for the discussion on maturity in Christ. You’re right — we need to be childlike with the Lord, but we also need to grow in our walk with Him. Thanks for pointing this out!

  7. Cheryl,
    Looks like you had fun! Thanks for the reminder to be a kid again.
    My 10-year-old son and I were at a family camp last week and we did a low ropes challenge course together. In our group of 11, I was the only adult woman. One of the features was to scale a 20-foot wall (without foot holds or a rope) with the help of the others in the group. Everyone in the group, including me did it! What fun it was. (Although I’m still sporting the bruises from it.)

    Blessings to you,
    Kelli

  8. Kelli, kudos to you for doing the ropes challenge with your son! What a great memory you built together. I’m glad you didn’t wind up with anything more serious than bruises. If it had been me, who knows what would have happened :)

  9. What a fun time. May we never lose the child-like quality in our hearts!
    Blessings,
    Nancy

  10. P.S. I did try to hula hoop with my neck – it didn’t work so well :)

  11. Hey, Nancy. Nice to hear from you!

    Kristin, I wondered if you tried the hula hoop on your neck. I must have missed it. Wonder what I was doing? Probably fiddling with the camera :)

  12. Kelli, kudos to you for doing the ropes challenge with your son! What a great memory you built together. I’m glad you didn’t wind up with anything more serious than bruises. If it had been me, who knows what would have happened :)

  13. Somehow Nancy & Kristin’s comments got deleted so I am reposting copies of them (all comments also go to my gmail address). They are below along with my follow-up comment:

    From Nancy:
    What a fun time. May we never lose the child-like quality in our hearts!
    Blessings,
    Nancy

    From Kristin:
    P.S. I did try to hula hoop with my neck – it didn’t work so well :)

    From Cheryl:
    Hey, Nancy. Nice to hear from you!

    Kristin, I wondered if you tried the hula hoop on your neck. I must have missed it. Wonder what I was doing? Probably fiddling with the camera :)

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