Feeling a Little Tarnisehd?

This past Saturday, I took part in our church’s community event, Eggstravaganza.  Parents and kids walk our property and buildings playing games and collecting treats.  We have a clown, snacks and then end it off with an Easter egg hunt.  April and I ran one of the stations, and for one hour we let kids show off their skills in carrying a fake egg on a spoon and weaving their way in and out of pylons.

The kids loved it, and it was a genuine ‘high’ for my day.  I think what I got out of it the most was how the smaller kids were able to get so much joy out of such a simple activity.  It wasn’t Xbox, PS4, Wii, or any other hi-tech gadget – just a wooden spoon and a wooden egg.  That’s it!  The prize at the end was a little goodie bag with two or three sweet snacks.

The little kids were thrilled, and so proud of themselves if they only dropped the egg a couple of times.  Their ‘thrill’ factor was comparable to a shiny silver spoon.  As I watched them, I wondered what happened to us ‘mature’ adults, that we had lost the knack of finding ‘thrill’s in the simple things of life.

Sometimes I feel more like a worn and tarnished spoon on the inside, and so I’ve wondered how one goes about getting the ‘tarnish’ off and letting some joy shine through.

It got me thinking about the product my Mom would use to polish her silverware.  It was called Twinkle.  Perhaps you have some stashed away in that junk drawer in your kitchen.  So I was thinking, “What would be the equivalent of Twinkle?”  It’s not like there’s a ‘joy polish’ out there that you can apply to your mind or heart.  (And no, stimulants and the like are a lousy substitute.  That’s not what I’m looking for).

This morning it hit me…the polish that works can be found in every home.  The polish is called, “Just-Go-And-Play”.  What you do is, think of a simple child’s game, and when no one is looking, just go and play.  It’s in the playing and letting the kid inside of you come out that the tarnish and gunk will begin to fade, and once again, the joy will shine.

So whattcha waiting for?