When I was a kid, we lived in a beautiful place, and probably, you did too.
When we are kids, we love to play, and run, and bike, and live for sun-filled days when we can do just that—-Enjoy our Day.
When I was a kid, my childhood place was pancake flat Indiana, and it surely was (& still IS) a lovely land to behold (in my opinion, of course).
Maybe you grew up in lovely, hill-filled KY—-OR
Maybe you grew up In the mountain peaks of Colorado—-OR
Maybe you lived on the beautiful, grain-filled plains of Kansas—-OR
Maybe your childhood was filled with days walking the sandy beaches of the Pacific coasts—-OR
Just maybe, your childhood home could be found riding your bike twenty minutes in the rain from one European town to the next.
Let’s consider our childhood………..
As children, we may have loved the outdoors, the feel of the wind against our skin as we ran through the yard, the sweat upon our foreheads as we played until our breath was spent, and the dirt covering our skin, the grime we knew our mom would notice as the ring of dirt remained on the inside of our bathroom tub after our nightly bath.

Children know how to give all parts of themselves to the plans of the single day.
Children know how to play with abandonment, leaving nothing undone or unplayed.
When I was a child living in Indiana, my brother Ron was my best friend. (Maybe you too enjoyed a sibling best “playing” friend.)  Ron and I played outside every day, enjoying the same places of play, the same games, and the same toys.    We shared everything.   Mom and dad were farmers by trade, and life on an Indiana farm was heaven on earth (to a child of 5-6-7-8-9-10-11).
We played every day.   We played hard every day.   We fell into bed SATISFIED, HAPPY that tomorrow (despite the day) would be a brand new play day, and we enjoyed plenty of places found on the farm to have fun.
We had hog houses to jump from as we leaped rooftop-to-rooftop (knowing we did just as the TV cowboys did)   &
We had the barn loft to climb into and hay bales to climb upon, and even barn ropes to swing from as we tried our best to swing through and even out the hayloft window, not really sure what we would do when we did (fly out).
We had plenty of flat fields, large expanses of area to run and play and bike and explore…….and when dad made us a manure hill and then the hill became covered the a wild small twig-tree growth, well, Ron and I were (for sure) living in our little piece of “heaven on earth.”
We made bike paths.
We hid and jumped out from behind the small tree growth.
We played hours and days and weeks upon our manmade hill, and we loved every single adventure.
Life is so much like our childhood homes.  Think about it for a moment.   For me……….
Just like the hog houses…….We too may find ourselves jumping from one place to another, crouching behind, hiding ourselves, down low as the world sends stinging obstacles our way, hoping we are hidden enough, low enough to not be injured or destroyed or even dismayed, knowing if we stand tall we may just endure a pain like we’ve never experienced before during our life.
Just like the hayloft filled with square hay bales, dust, a barn-cut window, and a barn loft rope to swing upon…….We too may find ourselves stepping into places that may lead us into situations that we just aren’t ready to face, knowing that when we do face them, we too will hope to hang onto the rope with all our might, because letting go is really just too scary.
Just like a flat ground to bike and play and run…….We too may be ecstatic when we are given a hill in life to play upon, a place to hide ourselves and our intimacies from others, knowing fully well that what we are really playing, walking, and standing upon is nothing more than nasty hardened manure.
Yes, the places we played as kids truly provide us a serious way to look at our lives.  As children, we knew how to find the best places, how to live day-to-day, & how to awake with a single focus—Playing Hard.   Truly, there is nothing wrong with playing hard and enjoying life.  In fact, we really must.
Yet, what if we expend all our energy to play throughout our whole life and never pause to focus upon WHO has provided all our places to play  &   WHO gives us all our adventures.  &   WHO provides for our needs.   &   WHO is the Creator of everything.    &    WHO hugs us tight and loves us eternally. &  WHO will walk us home (to His house), when our life is through, to share His eternity with forevermore?!!!
What if we awake and run into every day, living only for what this world can give?
What if we play for only what this life can give?
What if we only focus upon ourselves and never upon God and heaven?
WHAT IF?

Truly, the WHERE does Not Really matter when thinking of the days of play when we were children?!!   Most definitely, the place we grew up as a child & the memories we cherish are never based upon a location we live, BUT in knowing the JOY of WHO provides the morning, the PEACE of WHO sustains our hearts, and the Salvation of the One WHO created all.  Yes, most definitely, God asks us to accept, believe, and confess Him with childlike faith, and when we do, then HE gives us Unmeasurable JOY, and Everlasting PEACE, and Salvation FOREVERMORE.

Children truly know how to follow God. Let us today be a little more “child-like” as we give our moments, our days, our years, and our lives to our Father God.

The Bible provides US so many passages that reveal God’s truth.
“O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;  My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,  In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,   My lips will praise You.
So I will bless You as long as I live;   I will lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul is satisfied with marrow and fatness,   And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
When I remember You on my bed,   I meditate on You in the night watches,
For You have been my help,  And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to You;  Your right hand upholds me”    (Psalm 63:  1-8).