This past weekend we babysat our granddaughter, Chloe. There is never a dull moment!  She loves to play “Hide & Seek” and “Go” with Poppy (Mark), loves to read books and loves to laugh!  Chloe is a child filled with joy. So much joy!  She has a spirit about her that the French call “Joie de vivre” – an exuberant enjoyment for life. Now, she IS 2 1/2, so sometimes that exuberance gets a bit unleashed. At the Public Library on Saturday, she couldn’t get enough books off the shelves to take home.  We had to ask the Librarian for a book limit. Or, while at her swimming lesson doing the back float, she is the only child singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” at the top of her lungs, in a pool full of people. She just makes me laugh!

Friday night at dinner we were talking about our Saturday plans. We suggested that we could run some errands and stop at Target to buy a new blanket for her bed. And her response was, “Let’s do that Poppy, ok?  Let’s do that!”

“Let’s do that, OK?” It sounds so simple, and I love that it’s an inclusive statement. We are all going to do this together and it will be fun! It will be an adventure. It’s doable.

Sometimes we get mired down in the everyday details that we forget about adventures and opportunities. We spend hours analyzing politics, our jobs, our financial positions, and for the last couple of years, our health. We read self-help books and listen to podcasts looking for direction. Instead of looking for possibilities, alternatives and options, we close ranks. We shutdown. We exclude and delete more than we include and add. Surely, we have a God of promise, a God of possibilities, a God who raises the dead to life!

We have learned as adults to moderate our joy, to keep things in limits. Unleashed exuberance, though, is contagious. It changes those of us who encounter it. When a child leaps into your arms at the end of a school day, squealing your name with joy, your heart melts. It’s more open than before.  

So, “Let’s do that. OK?” Let’s be more open to things that can bring us joy. Let’s look for those moments where everything is a possibility. Even when life changes, and sometimes we are not sure of what comes next, take that next adventurous step, and say, “Let’s do that, OK? Let’s do that!”