Playing Duck, Duck, Goose with a Five Year Old

It’s been a rainy and cold day, so despite the need to be out in my yard cleaning up leaves, I had to stay inside.  There are benefits, however, to such a situation.  After all, cold and damp seem to induce fatigue which leads to some wonderful napping!  However, the best benefit is being able to spend uninterrupted time with my daughter.

My daughter, Anna, just turned five, so her energy level has been a bit higher than mine all day.  While I’m relaxing on my day off, she’s running around saying, “Come here Daddy!  Let me show you this!  Let’s do this!...”  But she threw me off guard today when she said, “I know.  Let’s play Duck, Duck, Goose!”

Yes, my immediate response was, “But Anna, there’s only two of us.”  To which she responded, “That’s okay.  We can play with my dolls.”

So she went over and pulled out three “Dora the Explorer” dolls of various sizes, and she laid them on the floor in a semi-circle.  We then sat down and completed the circle.  She stood up, patted me on the head then said, “Duck,” then moved to the Dora beside me and said the same, then picked up the next Dora and said, “Goose!”  She ran around the circle to her spot and sat down laughing.

She smiled as she stood up again, and with Dora’s hand, passed all the way around the circle saying, “Duck, duck, duck...” until she got to me and said, “Goose!”  I then had to take that Dora, run around the circle and tap Anna with a “Goose!”  The game continued for quite a few rounds, until finally I called it quits.

It is times like these when I am reminded of one of the great gifts that God has given us – the gift of creativity.  Dictionary.com defines creativity as “the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.”  My daughter, as well as many children, have an ability to transcend traditional ideas.  They tend to look and live outside the box, see things differently, and ignore the usual boundaries.  Instead, they risk going with their gut then going for what they want and see, and they have fun doing it!  What a freeing way to live!
                                      
So often as we mature, we allow this kind of creativity and freedom to be stifled.  We get so caught up in the ways of the world...how we expect things are supposed to be...that boundary lines become bolder and the willingness to take risks lessens.  And yet we don’t have to live this way.  Instead, we can make a conscious effort to be more creative, more willing to transcend the traditional, step outside our norms, and be free to have fun and truly live!

Jesus had interactions with many kinds of people, but some of the most amazing and powerful interactions came when children were in His midst.  Despite societal norms, Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”  (Mark 10: 14)

Jesus saw in children the kind of creativity that brings fullness to life, and he recommends to all, that we live the same way.  He recognized the blessing that comes when we are willing to risk something to truly live.  He shared with the world that we too can, and should, be willing to live outside the box, for in doing so we can experience the kind of Joy that which God intends for all.

“How willing are you to be creative in order to experience something new and special in your life?

Are you willing to share a story (in comments) of a time you took a risk and experienced true life?