A $2.50 Ball

It was one of those balls at Wal-Mart that you have to like hit up and over the cage that they reside in. It took a couple attempts to hit it up and over the metal but once the blue and white swirls came down and took a couple freedom bounces, Tracen's eyes widened with glee. And then I didn't see his cute little face again until I had to pry it out of his arms to pay for it.

This morning was beautiful. So I decided to ignore the laundry and the crumbs on the counter and the syrup from the pancakes that was dripping off the high-chair and get some shorts on to play with all four boys in the backyard. Several hours before my decision was made to enjoy the fellowship of my children outdoors, I was inside my bedroom among the darkness of the night telling God a piece of my mind. And since He knows the number of frizzy hairs on my head then I figured He also knew how big those tears were that were falling before the sun showed up.

The Pastor told us we need to give God our good side AND our bad side. So, I obeyed the Pastor. I yelled, or some might call it "cry out" but I yelled at God for being so stinkin good at playing hide-and-go-seek. I told Him that He is too good at the hiding and I'm not that great at seeking...Or at least that was the way I felt. I told Him that when I play the game with my boys I try not to hide where it takes them forever to find me because I get the most pleasure in the part where they find me. (Mainly because I like to scare them half-to-death, but that is irrelevant.) And I have to be honest, it felt good. And by the time I was done releasing my anger toward the One who is thankfully S-L-O-W to anger, the sun was rising and it was as if God was smiling into the darkness of the fading night. So that is when I decided to embrace the warmth of the day and play. Sometimes when life is really hard and complicated...Just play.

And that is what I did. I took my four blessings out to enjoy the sun...The Son who is right there waiting with us to make it through another trial. We played with that Ball we got from Wal-Mart for hours. We found new ways to play with a $2.50 ball. And I learned that day that when life is complicated it is the simple things that remind us what really matters the most.

Thank-you Father for that Ball and for your Son.