Looking Ahead to Fall... Generations of Faith 2009-2010 Parish Picnic Meeting Tuesday

COTTON CANDY

At the recent parish outing to the Mud Hens game, three-year-old Maddie was having a great time eating cotton candy, pulling off hand-full’s of the pink stuff and putting it in her mouth. When she saw me, she put out both arms for a hug. Needless to say, her sticky hands were more than I bargained for.

Kids love cotton candy. As far as I know it is just flavored, airy sugar with almost no nutritional value. Then again, one does not go the ballpark for nutrition.

Although I am not personally attracted to cotton candy, I think it is good when we can all be like children and just enjoy a special moment. Jesus not only said we should let children come to us; we also must be like children to enter the Kingdom of God.

There is a difference between being childlike and childish. The childish person is self-centered, demanding and temperamental. Childlike, on the other hand, is the quality that kids have of wonder, innocence, delight, playfulness, and complete dependence on trustworthy parents. As children exhibit these qualities, we adults must also, especially in our relationship with God as our loving parent.

Playfulness needs to be part of our life year-round, but summer is an especially good time to re-capture some of those qualities of youth. And if you don’t want cotton candy this week, then try to catch a firefly or lie on your back and compare clouds to people you know.

We grow older but we don’t want to forget how children see the world.