If you don’t know the top speed for a toddler, it is a lot faster than you think. I witnessed it first hand just recently. I had pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store to get some fresh fruit. As I got out of the car I saw a Mom hold her toddler boy’s hand while she talked on her phone. She finished her call and let go of her son’s hand for a second to put her phone in her purse. At that moment, however, a stray cat walked up on the sidewalk where they were standing. The boy reached down to pick up the cat. Now Mr. Cat didn’t want to be picked up and started to run off but the toddler followed behind in hot pursuit while his Mom yelled for him to stop. The toddler ignored her and continued to chase after the cat at top speed. I saw that the drop off from the sidewalk to the parking lot was almost a foot so I ran at my own top speed, caught the boy just as he reached the edge, and picked him up before he fell.

I thought he might cry or scream having a strange person pick him up but instead he laughed mischievously while I carried him back to his Mom. I laughed too as I could see this wasn’t his first time making a break for it, heading out for high adventure, and ignoring his Mom. His playful spirit reminded me of my own childhood.

Each day of my childhood was lived with joyous abandon. Each day had new opportunities for fresh adventures. Each day was full of fun, play, learning, laughter, and love. And in my soul, I could feel God watching over me from above. As I got older, though, hard work and responsibilities replaced fun and play. I grew up. I was no longer a child and I lost something in the process. It took me a long time to finally see that God wants us adults to have fun too.

Leo Buscaglia wrote: “Each day is a fresh beginning, a little life unto itself.” May each one of yours then be filled with fun, play, laughter, love, and joy while God smiles down upon you.