I love to watch children as they play. There is such freedom in expressing who they really are.

We took our God-niece (4-year-old) to McDonald’s Playland for supper and, of course, ate with all the other brave moms, dads, grandparents, and sitters in the community. Miss Annabelle (AB) was certainly more interested in playing than eating, but was only looking at the tubes and slides. I realized the problem when I remembered that she had commented in the car that someone had told her not to be afraid of the red slide.  I asked the mom sitting next to us if I could introduce AB to her daughter and if she would help her negotiate the playland. So, introductions done, AB and her new friend went off to explore and learn.  A short while later, AB said she couldn’t find her friend, who was hiding in the bubble. She went to find her and had discovered that she didn’t want to play because AB didn’t want to go on the red tube/slide.   A bit later, AB met a new friend named Emma. As they played, I noticed AB was still playing on the green slide, but Emma wasn’t worried about that. She had a friend, and that was what was most important to her.

This moment offers a small but beautiful picture of Jesus’ love for us. He isn’t worried about whether we want to play on the red tube slide. He simply wants to be our friend. James 2:8 comes to mind here. When we love our neighbors — our friends — as ourselves, we are honoring the Royal Law and reflecting His love to those around us.