Walking in Wonder - Draw Near to God as You Navigate Your Child's Second Year of LifeSample

The Goodness of Play

Does your toddler hand you objects now with an expectation that you will pretend or play with her? A toy cup for you to sip? A baby doll for you to rock? A car to zoom across the ground? It’s amazing to see this beautiful instinct to play that God has sown into our children. It is one of the wonders of parenting to watch them play and through them to be invited to enjoy our own playfulness again.

Yesterday we talked about how God made us to work, but it is also true that God made us to play. Sometimes work and play are hard to distinguish, especially when we are doing something we love. The Bible doesn’t often use the word play, but it talks often of enjoyment, and even more often implies that enjoyment. For instance, in the command to Adam and Eve above, we usually focus on the prohibition— the Thou Shalt Not— and miss something obvious: God has created every other tree in this beautiful garden for Adam and Eve to enjoy. Play and delight go hand in hand. You will see it in the joy and wonder of your child popping a bubble or laughing in the bonding tussle of a tickle fight. One of the great reminders of the goodness of God is that He has made us to enjoy Him and this world. Let us never be too old to miss the sweetness of this.

For more information about the Catherine Claire Larson and Walking in Wonder visit: https://www.thomasnelson.com/p/the-wonder-series/