The dark brown eyes are begging me, his growing little boy face grinning and his dirty hands grabbing at my arm.
“Mommy come play with us!”
“Mommy come dance with us!”
“Mommy chase me!”
The words are different but the meaning is the same. These words are an invitation. Why is it an invitation that I find so hard to accept?
My hands grip the dish towel and my eyes dart towards the dirty dishes littering the sticky counter. My husband is the fun one, I think. He’s better at playing with them.
“Go ask Daddy.” I find myself saying. “Mommy needs to clean up.” Sometimes it’s folding the laundry or paperwork or writing. The excuses are varied, and they pull at my mind like insistent little fingers vying for my attention.
“Please Mommy!”
A part of me is sighing and saying, “Not again. I’m so tired and I don’t feel like it.” But today there’s something niggling in my spirit, quietly speaking to me. I follow the strand to see where it connects and there it is. Underneath all of the invitations, the ones from my child and my husband, and my friends . . . underneath all of these, I’m starting to believe, is His invitation.
He is asking me. He is inviting me. But I have to enter in.
It’s not easy. Perhaps it should be, but my head fills with all of the things I “should” be doing. All the reasons why someone else is better suited. All the reasons why I “can’t.”
But now . . . now I am starting to hear His whisper. To let all of those things, reasons, excuses go. Because if I want to have joy, walk in joy, then I need to be present. I need to enter into it.
I need to enter into the silliness. Into the laughter. Into the frolicking. Into the joy.
I need to say “Yes” to it.
I need to take action and move. One step forward. One song, one dance, one tickle fest at a time.
Maybe for you it’s “Come on this trip with us!” or “Take a break and come sit with me!” or “Play this game with us!”
The invitation comes in many forms, dressed in play clothes, work clothes, going out clothes. As little children, family, friends, co-workers, and church members. But each time, the invitation is extended, it is an opportunity to choose to enter into joy.
The question really is, will we accept it?
I hope that for me the answer will be yes more often than no.
Sometimes it seems like such a big thing. A hard thing. It feels like having to overcome the inertia and scale the wall that seems to be holding us back.
But, really?
It is one small choice.
And I know that you can, we can all make that choice. Maybe not every time, but maybe this time. Maybe this time, you can look into his smiling face and beautiful eyes and say yes.
“Yes, I will play with you.”
“Yes, I will dance with you.”
“Yes, I will chase you.”
Last night, I said yes. And he chased me around the loft, giggling with glee, trying to “get me” with a dirty diaper, and I laughed harder than I have in months. And the sound of his little boy laughter in that moment is stored up like treasure in my heart.
Saying yes did more good for me than it did for him. Saying yes to the invitation brought lightness, refreshment, and healing to my soul. It gave me a glimpse of the way God delights in me.
So look for the invitations and when you can, enter into the joy.
Into His joy.
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Heather,
My “little boy” is now 23 and do you know what he remembers most from his very young years? He remembers us dancing in the kitchen. He remembers me laughing and clapping while he “played a piano concert” for me (he’s now an awesome musician). He remembers us dragging our folding chairs out to the edge of the driveway, setting up camp, and simply sitting, talking about nothing and everything, and watching the world go by. Nowhere on the list is how awesomely I folded the laundry or cleaned up the kitchen in record time. Yes, work needs to get done…but the invitations may only last for a blink of the eye. Accept them…
Blessings on a wonderful post,
Bev
Thank you Bev! That is so encouraging! It helps to hear some perspective on what will really matter in the long run. What things have more value. Because you are right! I don’t remember the laundry or the kitchen cleaned up stuff either. I remember the wrestling with my Dad, and twirling around with my brother while my mom played the piano, and going camping or playing games together.
Thank you for your kind words!
God bless,
Heather
Good word. Great word!
Thank you Cheri!
How fun Heather! What special memories you are making! Congratulations for your great post, it’s wonderful to be in HopeWriters with you.
Thanks! You too!
THANK YOU!!!!! This is me and you’re right it is God Himself inviting me/us into joy. The joy of relationship that is so extraordinary. Must lay down that to-do list and enjoy what God has provided. I especially need the joy of the relationship with my Heavenly Father-His love, His grace and soooooooo much more. Underneath all of this was a dislike of myself born of childhood abuse. BUT God! He is healing with His love.
Gail, YES! He is healing with His love. =)
Great reminder to accept the invitation and be present in our own lives!
This is such a sweet, joyful post Heather, thank-you. I’m thankful for those precious moments my parent’s put aside for me.
Have a blessed day,
Penny
Thank you Penny! You too!
Heather,
Children need and want their parents to “play” with them. These invitations could be God telling us to “go have some fun and enter into joy”. Making memories with them is far more important than doing laundry or dishes. You will only have your young ones for a little while, so why not enjoy them and have a big laugh at the same time!
Blessings 🙂
Absolutely Beth! =) I agree.
Beautiful post, Heather. I love how you tied your son’s invitation in with God’s – both are asking us to drop the busyness and the doing and to enjoy and to love. A perfect reminder, much needed – one I hope to heed the next time my two-year old asks for “help” playing. 🙂
Thank you Jenn! I’m working on heeding it too! =)
This is so true! When I say yes it changes ME. It softens MY heart. It makes me into someone I like better, someone I enjoy more. Someone more present all around. Thanks! This is a good word.
Heather this is so common here…ouch and thank you for the reminder I need to lay things aside to grab up my kiddos more.
Me too Meghan! He keeps reminding me. =) God bless!
As a Nana, who now has Scoliosis & MS, I can tell you truthfully……time goes so fast. You don’t see it now when you are young, but oh, it goes so fast. Those little ones will be in school, then college before you know it. Those dirty dishes can wait. Play, laugh, love those babies. You won’t regret one minute of loving them.