[Posted September 1, 2009] Let me see a show of hands…how many of you loved playing on the swings as a kid? Because of my experience as an elementary education teacher (not to mention the parent of four children and 14 foster children), I know that the swings are the most popular feature on any playground. I have fond memories of pushing kids on the swings (remember the Underdog?). “Higher, higher!” they’d scream. It seemed as though kids who would otherwise be afraid of heights couldn’t get high enough on the swings.
The famous poet Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a poem entitled “The Swing” that describes the joy of this great pastime. The first stanza says:
How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
But I was reminded last week that swings are just for kids. The first part of our vacation was a “staycation,” spent here at home, but each day we’d head off late in the afternoon and explore a couple of the local playgrounds. After I’d get HannahRose going on the swing, I’d jump on the one next to her and begin swinging with all my might. I was only slightly surprised at how quickly I found myself thinking, “Higher, higher!”
That got me to thinking about why the swings are so popular. And speaking from my own experience, the answer came quickly. I enjoyed the swings so much because, while I was on them, I wasn’t thinking about anything else. My focus was solely upon the wind blowing in my hair, and the beautiful blue sky and sunshine above, and whether I’d just keep gliding back and forth until I stopped or if I’d find a faster way to slow down and stop. There was no caring for the details of the upcoming anniversary party for my parents, no thinking about what I wasn’t doing at church or what kind of crisis I’d return to, not a worry about what we’d be eating for dinner…or when. “Hakuna matata” as my Disney friends Timon and Pumba from “The Lion King” would say…”No worries.”
As I was pondering these thoughts on the swings one afternoon, a verse came to mind. Listen to Jesus’ teaching from Matthew chapter 6, as translated by Eugene Peterson in The Message:
“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds” (verses 25-27; the rest of the chapter is really good – I highly recommend reading it!).
There are far too many things in life that we worry about, things over which we have no control. And when we spend time worrying, it’s like dragging our feet when we’re trying to swing – we don’t get too far off the ground and, quite frankly, it’s not a lot of fun. Let me offer a bit of ‘swing set’ advice – “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matthew 6:34).
Swing High!
Pastor Chad
