One day I walked with a child. This was the only day of my year in the park that I brought along a friend. Several people asked to walk with me but I always declined. On this day, though, Joy came along and I walked with her.
No, the name of that one with the pink toes isn’t Joy, but I will call her that here. Surely, my walks have brought me joy, but none that transcends the true joy of a child! This entry would be a chapter to accommodate all the joy we had!
Galloping in the sandy courts, Joy found a volleyball and called me to play. The net loomed high and wide above her tiny physique, but whether her serve went over, under or straight into it, Joy only bounced back. I was captivated with Joy as she grappled the playground bars. Her legs swung into the air with abandon, keeping her keen ballast and propelling her onward to the finish–a leap into the next joy to discover! She took to a swing like it would toss her to the stars and a slide, as if it would drop her into heaven itself.
At the pond, Joy’s toes kissed the water’s edge, as her roving wonder buoyed with the ducks and wafted through the reeds. In the gazebo we rested. She smiled for my lens in the cool streaks of shade and sunlight, her teeth in all stages of childlike joy. When it was time to go, I invited her on one last adventure–a stroll around the pond to spy a frog or a turtle or a snake. Joy tiptoed behind me in the damp grass and slowed even more as we neared a curve in the path, the snake’s favorite spot. So I scooped her up in my arms and Joy clung to me as we peered into the underbrush. We didn’t see the snake but we squealed with joy anyway.
But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Luke 18:16
Meeting God at the Park 