This is fun!
I was sitting on the deck at the Apple Box after one of the recent rain storms that have played havoc with weekend barbeques but that have eased fears of drought.
The rain had stopped and the sun was just starting to peek out from behind the clouds. Although it wasn’t raining, water was still running down the gutters of the Mill and dripping from the awning that faces the Petaluma River.
One of the best parts of sitting outside at the Apple Box is the chance you have to people watch. Whether it’s customers enjoying a sunny day or people walking along the deck to points downtown, there are always people to watch.
Two people who appeared that day were a father and his young daughter. He was a tall man, well over six feet. His daughter was a young girl, not more than three or four; she barely came up to his knees.
She was dressed in a raincoat and bright red boots. Unlike most people out that day, she wasn’t concerned about getting wet. From her actions it became clear that water and wetness were new to her and still an adventure.
Walking along with her dad, holding his hand, they came to a place where water was dripping from the awning onto the deck. Most people, her dad included, avoided the dripping water but not the young girl. When she saw the water steadily dripping and splashing on the deck, she was drawn to it. She wanted to stand under the drip; she wanted to experience the water falling on her.
As she stood under the water, her dad waited patiently with her. She jumped up and down and gleefully splashed in the puddle. She looked up and let some of the drops hit her face. She hadn’t learned that getting wet is unpleasant, something to be avoided. Quite the opposite; for her, getting wet, splashing water on her boots and feeling rain water falling on her face was wonderful.
Finally she couldn’t contain her joy any longer. “This is fun”, she cried!
As I watched her play in the water and then heard her exclaim this is fun, her simple joy reminded of a phrase in the New Testament, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18)
Finally the fun had to stop. Her dad had things to do and places to go. As they walked away, he noticed me sitting there and realized I had watched her playing in the water. As they walked away, he turned to me and said there is a lesson to be learned from her. I said I couldn’t agree more!
