“Oh no! Jesus is falling!” the boy screamed!
“Quick! St. Michael, catch the crucifix!” he ordered.
St. Michael swooped down from the sky, but came a little too late and could not catch the falling crucifix.
“St. Josemaría! Save Jesus from hitting the ground!” the boy made one last plea.
A prayer card of St. Josemaría glided like a surfboard from nowhere and caught the falling crucifix before it hit the ground.
“Yahoooo! St. Josemaría saves the day again!” Jovy cried out in joy.
“Next time,” he pointed to the statue of St. Michael, “you had better be more alert. If St. Josemaría were not close by, then Jesus would have hit his head on the ground.”
“Now let’s form a circle around Jesus!” he then gathered the statues on his mother’s prayer altar and began putting the other figures around the crucifix.
“Let us now pray to Jesus for Mommy, Daddy, Sussy, Rex and Tania. So that they will always be good and all go to heaven one day.”
“What about you, Jovy?” his mother peeked from the door. “Aren’t you going to ask something for yourself?” She was quite amused to see her son playing with the statues like toy soldiers.
Sarah’s children had toys and a few simple video games, but she and her husband reared their kids to love books and do-it-yourself handicraft kits. This was indeed a better investment for the future, and it helped them to be more creative.
“Nope, ‘coz my guardian angel already said a prayer to Jesus for me,” the 4-year-old boy replied.
“And what would that prayer be?” his mother asked.
“That Jesus can play with me anytime and anywhere He wants,” Jovy replied.
* * *
The simplicity of Sarah’s children and Jovy’s entertaining game teach a lesson of how we must simply place ourselves before God as we are and allow Him to play with us as He wishes.
We are often sad or disappointed not because of any objective trial but because our petty expectations or goals are not met. We react exaggeratedly by complaining or getting angry because we could not control the “playing field.” In reality, our sadness is due to what St. Josemaría teaches, “there is something between you and God.” (cf. The Way, no. 662)
Children, however, are seldom sad. This is because of their openness to almost anything and above all because they have not yet learned the “art of being self-centered.” They are not attached to plans, schemes nor try to assume an ‘I-already-know’ attitude before their parents. And they are ready to turn almost anything into an occasion to ‘live and enjoy life’. This must be every Christian’s attitude before God.
God Himself says in Proverbs 8, that it is His desire longing “to be with the children of men” and to spend His time with them “playing.” Isn’t there a more attractive way to describe how God wants to be with us and spend that time with us? How can we not respond—except when we don’t know how to be childlike—to such an enchanting proposal? How many of us have wishful thoughts of becoming children once again just to rid ourselves of our personal complications?
Imagine, God wants to play with us? And these are the basic points:
1. It is always something invitational. This means that we are free to play or not to play this game of love with God.
2. Like all games, it has some rules to follow. There are no games without rules. Rules exist not to for themselves but so the game can be played well. The Ten Commandments, that is the universal moral guide for man, describes the playing field. In this game, one doesn’t play with the rules, but uses the rules in order to play and to love.
3. God wants us to enjoy ourselves playing this game with Him. Sometimes we may not understand it in the beginning, but with time, practice, patience and faith, we start enjoying it. We even develop better skills to play it.
4. The best part is that He wants us to win this game. The only real way to win is never to get tired of playing with Him. If we never abandon a childlike stance—characterized by trust and humility– we will most likely find God helping us to play in order to win.
5. Oh, I almost forgot … If you’re a child, then it would naturally mean inviting other children to this game of love. That’s when the fun really begins!
So what are you waiting for? Start playing … I mean praying, or whatever it may be, there really seems to be no difference if they are both lovingly done in the presence of our Father God.