Thursday, June 09, 2005

What will they think?

Today as I sat on the beach here on our vacation I was reminded of the freedom of children. I was watching my two cousins play in the sand. Of course, being the good parents that their parents are, sunscreen had to be applied. Well, my youngest little cousin had his sunscreen applied very patiently. As soon as his dad had finished he took off running full force, arms flailing in the air toward the area he and his brother had been playing. As I lay there, I thought, WOW what self esteem he has to be so care-free. Then I thought, no, it is not his esteem, he just doesn't care. He has yet to enter the world of wondering what other's might think or say behind your back. This post is just a reminder to all of us (who would never be caught dead running on the beach with nothing on but our bathing suits) that WHO CARES. Christ loves us and that really is all that matters. He loves for us to enjoy life and have fun. What if someone saw my post-baby body running crazily down the beach. Let them think what they will. Let's have the freedom of a child. The care free life of sand, toys, and playmates. Try to do something uninhibited this week. It can be in private or in public. I think if we release our bonds of "who's looking" then we might just find we feel a whole lot happier with life and ourselves. Let's take back our "freedom"!! Who's in???

1 comment:

Sarah said...

I've been thinking of this recently as I just got back from 9 days of staff orientation at the best camp in the world, Camp Lurecrest.
We talked about "vertical thinking" versus "horizontal thinking". I realized how horizontally focused I was. My other summer job, besides working at the camp, is at a pool, babysitting. For me, being in a swimsuit is not fun. I start criticizing myself, and feeling self-conscious. It's only when I focus on Jesus and how He loves me that I can truly let go.
Thanks for the reminder that He is all that matters, and if we focus on Him, we are free indeed.