Our kids are allowed a pretty large amount of freedom when it comes to play. I often wonder how they would cope if we ever lived in a neighborhood with a fenced back-yard. I'm afraid they would struggle because they've grown so accustomed to this way of life. It is typical for our kids to run outside and not come back in until it's nearly dark. I keep a check on their whereabouts, but they know their boundaries and they are free to roam within those boundaries wherever they want.
They've each had at least one time of stepping outside of their given boundaries. They've all learned their lessons on that, so far, and don't have any trouble sticking to the areas they know they are allowed to go. Camila still plays right around the house. I'm hoping we will have her boundaries established soon so that she can share in the same freedom her older brothers have.
Their freedom has afforded some pretty crazy circumstances.
My kids have come in saying they've eaten ants, minnows, and 3 month old hot dogs that they found in an ice chest. (True stories, different occasions.) They've made pine needle tea on a campfire with pond water and pine straw. One try with each of those things was enough to permanently quench the craving. :/ They build fires, pick up snakes and other creatures, and climb really tall trees.
They swim in a pond, jump in the mud, and zip-line from a 20 foot tree house. They play outside in 30 degree weather in lots of clothes, and in 100 degree weather with only shorts. In fact, my boys insist on no shirts if it's in the 60's and higher.
They have mud wars, build traps, make inventions, and get really, really dirty. My boys have caught snakes, turtles, fish, an owl, squirrels, lizards, geckos, a starlen, doves, crabs, and are currently hoping they'll be able to have a baby fox.
I am figuring out just how much they are learning with this freedom.
They now know about poisonous plants and snakes. They know how to use their imaginations and how to problem solve in many instances. They figure out ways to make things work that seemed like a challenge, before.
There's truly no classroom like the great outdoors.
My best memories from childhood come from that same place of imagination, play, and freedom. Running through cornfields with water guns. Roaming through the woods, swimming in the river, and riding my bike all over God's green earth. Exploring old abandoned houses that I found while riding my bike around, and later, while driving my car around. Climbing large trees. Playing in the rain...those memories are forever etched in my brain. They're the essence of childhood and the happy adventures I revisit often. They're sweet remnants of my past; treasures I desire to allow my children to partake of.
Our culture is so engrossed with fear, we have allowed some of the most beautiful things in life to be replaced with caution. Life was never meant to be lived in constant what-ifs! It was meant to be explored and relished in. Every vivid color, every rainy and sunny day, and every imaginative moment absorbed in all their glory. This can be done no matter where one lives, simply by letting go of unnecessary fear and living in purposeful joy and freedom.
Do bad things happen to good people? Sure they do.
But as long as I'm living my life to bring glory to God, and for His purposes to be fulfilled through me and my family, I can rest easy. Not a hair falls from one of my kid's heads without the Lord knowing about it. I can trust that He is watching over us all, and His perfect timing and will are unfolding in that surrender. In the good and in the bad, He is with us.
May the bumps, bruises, and scratches not slow down the adventure.
May a fear based culture not squelch the imagination.
May life be lived in purposeful joy and freedom.
May we know more of who Jesus is as we live in surrender.
3 comments:
I'm right there with you on this. I grew up wandering the woods close to our houe. I just don't understand the kids I teach that spend all day inside playing video games. There is so much fun to be had exploring and imagining things there is no reason to stay in.
This post just makes me so sad that my kids are growing up in a tiny, fenced in yard and that I fear every time they're out front without me. I so want this for my kids!
Oh no!! I surely never wanted to make anyone feel sad! :( I think the attitude of allowing kids the freedom to get dirty, investigate, and explore...whatever the space or boundary, is the point. I've seen pics of you guys hiking and exploring...I think that's the heart of it. <3 Letting their imaginations bloom where they're planted...Wherever we are- I believe God crowns our good efforts with success!
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