Bubble Wrap

I drove down the street and stopped at my mailbox before going down the driveway.
I got out of my car and opened the box.
It was empty.
It was not a federal holiday; it is unusual not to get any mail at all.

I got back in my car and began to drive down the driveway.
It was then I saw the package.
The package from the online company with the logo that looks like a smile.
The mail woman drove down the driveway to deliver the package with all of my mail on top.

It’s funny how a package can make you smile.
It’s funny how having mail delivered literally to your door makes you feel special.
I came inside the house with some other things and closed the garage door.
About an hour later, I remembered that I left the mail outside.

I pushed the button of the garage door opener and heard the sound of the doors opening.
There, where I left it, was the smiling package along with my mail.
I picked it up and carried it inside.
I knew what was inside the package but it was still fun to open it up and look inside.

Wrapped around the item was a sheet of bubble wrap.
I laid it aside.
I sorted the mail and put some of it on my husband’s desk.
I grabbed the sheet of bubble wrap to throw it away.

If I was a comic strip drawing, there would have been a thought bubble over my head.
The thought bubble would have had a light bulb with the light shining brightly.
Should I?
No one was home; no one would see.

I began to pop the bubbles.
With each pop, I saw my children in my mind’s eye.
I remember them laying large sheets of bubble wrap on the kitchen floor.
They would jump and dance on the sheet; the sound was deafening.

With childlike glee, I popped each and every bubble!
It made quite a bit of noise.
I didn’t pop the bubbles in order, or in a neat row.
I popped whatever bubble my fingers hit.

To my delight, every one of those bubbles were popped right there in my kitchen.
And it felt good!
I understood how much fun that activity really was for my children.
For the minutes it took me to pop each bubble, I was a child again.

I laughed when I threw the deflated piece of bubble wrap away.
If they could see me now, I thought imagining what my children might say.
They would laugh knowing that Mom was just being Mom.
They would probably join me.

When everyone was home for my youngest daughter’s birthday, I made roast beef for dinner.
That was always our Sunday dinner.
This was a special occasion so it warranted a special meal.
It was when I got out the electric knife, it happened.

When they were growing up, the sound of the electric knife would bring them into the kitchen.
They did not walk into the kitchen with composure, they ran at full speed.
As they ran I would hear them say, Piece! Piece!
I honestly forget who started it, though I could wager a guess.

One night, all those years ago, my husband joined in.
I turned and they all were running in to get a small piece of roast beef before it was served.
That night, all those years later, they heard the sound of the electric knife.
My two sons, one a lawyer and one married, came running in the kitchen.

Everyone laughed.
My sons got a piece anyway.
How could I resist?
It felt good.

Do you know how good it feels to be a child again?
When was the last time you were swinging on a swing?
When was the last time you sledded down a steep hill?
When was the last time you jumped in a puddle just for fun?

Coloring books are coming back into fashion for adults.
Stress relief, they call it.
Somewhere along the way we stopped playing.
Or if we play, we turn our play into work, making it organized and complicated.

Don’t you ever want to jump into a leaf pile?
Wouldn’t it be fun to play hide and seek again?
Do you ever have the desire to climb a tree?
Wouldn’t you like to ride a purple bike with streamers on the handlebars?

Do you ever wish you could have mismatch day and wear whatever clothes you choose?
Wouldn’t it be fun to look at another person and say, I’ll race you down the driveway?
When was the last time you rolled down a hill just because you felt like it?
Wouldn’t it be nice to play dress up again?

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:1-4)

There is something so innocent and carefree about a child.
A child has simple faith.
A child does not bring all the adult baggage to the table, trying to figure things out.
A child just believes and goes on from there.

Jesus did not want the disciples to be the best version of their adult selves.
Jesus wanted His disciples to be the best children they could be.
Innocent, trusting children.
Children who depend on their Father for everything.

We go through life with our stuffy adult ways thinking that is what is expected.
When all along, Jesus wants us to have childlike faith that clings to our Father in submission.
Childlike faith that admits that not everything is figured out; not even most things.
Childlike attitude that believes without seeing and trusts completely.

It is so refreshing to let go and fall into the arms of our Heavenly Father.
It is just fine to lay the adulthood down for a bit and be like a child before Him.
It feels so good to know that He is in control and we can just rest.
Don’t you want to pop some bubble wrap?

Be a child before your Heavenly Father.
His arms are waiting.