First Step of Play
My 2020 word of the year is “try.” When I was originally asking the Lord for a word, I first heard “deep,” and to be honest I was a little bummed because it wasn’t a fun word and sounded like a lot of work. So, of course, I kept checking with God to see if I could maybe “spin again.” On December 31, during my morning prayer, I was thanking the Father for a beautiful year. I wrote “...You are a giver. I can’t fathom being able to love like you, but I commit to trying...Try…Deep feels unattainable. Try helps me take the first step. Deep feels too serious. Try sounds like the kind of fun you have been pursuing me with. Try will bring me past my excuses and fears and into the deep.”
Over the last 5 months, this word has knocked down so many walls that have been concealing a playground where the Father has been encouraging me to run wild and free. Why is a preschool classroom filled with toys? Because that’s how children begin to learn! If we are called to be childlike, why would the Father not invite us to play? For me, play looks like trying things I’ve never done before because I was afraid of failure or didn’t know how. Having a posture of play turns overwhelming things into adventures.
For me, the first step of play is try. “Try” was putting a seed in the ground, completing day 1 of a consecration, buying a blender and throwing some fruits and veggies in it, replacing a thought of judgement for one of affirmation. Now, I have a garden (I call it a farm) and am learning something new everyday about creation and our God of details. I am eating healthier and having fun doing it without feeling shameful when I go for a bag of processed deliciousness. I imperfectly completed a 44-day Consecration to Jesus through St. Joseph, and found a much needed litany within it. And, I’m very slowly cleaning up the mold that has grown in dark corners of my heart.
As I have played the game of “gardening,” I have discovered many others who also started with “try.” One particular family whose beautiful story created The Kindred Farm had just a single cucumber harvested from their first “try” at gardening. Nearly 15 years later, this try has not only produced a bounty of fresh produce for their family and community, but it is also cultivating what we at Greenhouse like to call “Big Family.” I think most importantly though, Christine and Steven Bailey of The Kindred Farm, are raising children who so freely reveal the truths that many adults have forgotten along the way as we have let go of the art of play. I couldn’t say it better than their daughter Luci when she was asked “What would you say to a grown-up who wants to start gardening with their kids but isn’t sure where to start?” Her answer: “Don’t think of it as work - think of it as a playground.” What if we looked at each landscape in our life as a playground?