Somewhere off in a distant land and time (Deerfield Illinois in 1983), I was a college junior. I remember hearing about a class for seniors called “The Christian and Recreation.” I was unable to take this particular course but was curious as to its content. I remember asking myself “What on earth could the curriculum be? What did the syllabus contain? What could seniors possibly do for their final paper or presentation; sit around in lounge chairs, in bathing suits, slowing sipping iced tea?”
Surely the professor was going to make a case against the over indulgence of American recreation. I mean to be truly Christian doesn’t leave room for thinking about oneself. Even the thought of doing nothing sounded ungodly. Was the professor going to make a case for acceptable recreation vs. unacceptable for the truly righteous? I didn’t recall hearing that “recreation” was a necessary element in my spiritual growth. Now twenty-four years, one husband, two kids, one dog, mortgage, two jobs, three sports and dance classes, church involvement, lots of stress and anxiety later, I wish I could have taken that senior class.
What does it mean to recreate? What does it mean to re-create? The Scriptures tell of the detailed account when God created the heavens and earth. After God created and after God declared it good then He rested. It seems to me that the creative part was the working part and the resting part was the relaxing part. Oh, maybe we got this all wrong. Maybe to re-create or recreate is about allowing God to create something new in us; something that will refresh us in the inside; something that will renew us spiritually and physically; something that will create in us a new direction or perspective or renewed love for others and the Lord.
What allows you to re-create? For me it is moments of getting lost in the voices of children singing their hearts out at Vacation Bible School. It is an early morning walk around Central Park, no iPod, and just singing birds. It is watching fireworks on the 4th of July with my family and feeling thankful for undeserved blessings. It is throwing a baseball with my son or walking the dog with my daughter. Could it be that to recreate is merely allowing God to re-create what has been overtaken, pushed aside or misplaced in our lives? I wish a summer full of many woven threads of recreation.
Happy Summer!
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