Recess with God

The first day of school is now recent history for our children. For our elementary children, recess is still an important part of the school day. I heard a report recently about a community that was beginning year round school and they had interviewed a child who really didn’t have a concern about year round school, but what was bothering him more than anything was that his recess time had been shortened. 

As a young child, recess was planned time during the day in which we could set aside our school curriculum for fifteen minutes and unwind for a time. Recess was a time to play tag, dodge ball, football, jump rope, jacks or sit under the Oak tree sharing stories and tales with your school friends. I remember enjoying rounds and rounds of marbles with my friends; we exchanged baseball cards, and brought our model cars and airplanes to show off to our friends. Recess re-energized and re-focused us and we returned to our classrooms a little more prepared to read, write and do arithmetic. It was a planned time-out. 

Just as our children need time away from the rigor and order of a school day, so do we need to have recess with God? When you think about your day, you know there are things that must get done and you will do them. There are work responsibilities, family activities, children’s schedules and a multitude of distractions that break us down and wear us out and these are the times that we need to step out onto the playground, sit under an Oak tree and remember who we are and to whom we belong. Just as our schools plan recess for our children, we need to plan time with God every day. 

Recess with God will help us to be more effective workers in the work-place, more attentive to our spouse and our children, and we’ll have a healthier, happier outlook on our own well being. Yes, I think that God could be a wonderful friend to have on the playground of life. 

Prayer:

              God my life is busy and I am so easily distracted. You are important to me. Help me, O God, to plan time everyday with you. Amen.