Oh, To Be Flexible!

“ At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” *

Our grandson, Elliot, celebrated his 11^th birthday with six friends and brother Nate at Airtime—a kid friendly place where kids of all ages (even grown-up ones) can jump, climb, swing and whirl to their hearts content.

“Airtime” was a new experience for Al and me. He helped with the transportation, while I went along as an observer…although, it would have been fun to jump on one of the trampolines embedded in the floor between padded mats!                                     

Elliot and two others sat in the back seat of our car while I assisted Al with the navigation, holding the cell phone in my hand and repeating the directions from the GPS.  It was challenging trying to help Al navigate with three boys talking in high pitched accents in the back seat. To add to the confusion, we lost the verbal instructions from the phone as we were going through a construction zone and detour.

“Is this the turnoff?” Al wanted to know. But while I was trying to decide, we sped by the exit. “Oh no!”

He had to drive south for a few more miles before turning around and getting back on course. Al took it in stride and the boys didn’t seem concerned…a good thing!

When we arrived, Shanda was waiting for us in the lobby. The boys in her car had already taken off their shoes and disappeared into the vast gym. Nate, Elliot’s older brother, was on the climbing wall where he was cautiously making his way upward using the handholds and footholds as best as he could. The holds were spaced apart, presenting a challenge for Nate even though he has fairly long legs and arms.

After a couple of tries and gaining more confidence, he added another dimension to the climbing wall by putting an adjacent rope that was suspended from the ceiling over his shoulder. His plan was to climb up several feet on the wall, then use the rope to swing  over to a second rope. From there, he was going to try to swing to a horizontal ladder suspended from the ceiling.

 “What are you going to do when you get to the ladder?” I asked. “Walk across it?”

 “No, can’t do that. I have to swing from rung to rung until I reach the next platform.”

 “Then are you going to walk across the platform?” I asked, wondering if there was enough room between the ceiling and the platform to stand up.

“No, I have to hold on to the edges.” By gripping on to the edges, Nate could make his way to the end of the obstacle course. It would certainly take a great deal of arm strength. His plan worked well until he grabbed onto the second rope, lost his grip and fell into the soft mat below.

I enjoyed that day at Airtime. Being transported into a kids’ world felt good. No worries about the state of the world, no burdens or sorrow…only bouncing and having fun as another birthday was celebrated.

It was impressive watching the kids tackle the obstacle course and climbing wall. Most of them had a lot of agility, strength and flexibility too. My idea of jumping on a trampoline was quickly abandoned though. Good memories of doing that in younger years were sufficient!

 For most of us, flexibility is difficult to maintain as we get older. When Al had to take our car into the repair shop on the spur of the moment, he thanked the manager for being flexible with the scheduling.

 “I haven’t been flexible for years! I can hardly bend over to touch my toes!” he joked.

He was thinking of physical flexibility of course. However, we also tend to become rigid in our thought patterns and ways of doing things. When the disciples asked Jesus  who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven, He pointed to a little child. I can just hear Him saying, “Be humble, be eager to learn and try new things, stay flexible…and above all believe!”

*Matthew 18:3b-4 NIV